The CDC reports that only half of all patients take advantage of routine preventive care. We all know prevention is better than cure so why the lack of uptake in these important services? We are creatures of habit so getting patients into new habits can be challenging but the real reasons associated with lack of uptake include:

• Many patients assume that preventive services are expensive and think they can’t afford it
• Patients don’t know how or who to schedule their appointments with
• Patients are unaware of the services they are eligible for
• Patients forget to schedule their routine care appointments
• Patients fail to make preventive care a priority.

When it comes to MACRA and MIPS, one of the best ways to improve scores is ensuring patients engage in their recommended preventive care testing. Early detection and assessment have been shown to be a key indicator in improving patient outcomes.

Encouraging and scheduling routine preventive care is key to help drive patient visits to a practice. New software available makes this process easy for patients and practices to:

• Identify eligibility for preventive services from both a patient and insurance perspective.
• Provide reminders and another contact for patients to keep preventive care front of mind.
• Create a pre-visit outreach to collate information prior to attending the office.
• Reduce time in office completing paperwork and questionnaires.
• Streamline billing and coding for ease of reimbursement.
• Have compliant records for compliance and regulation.

Many EHR systems integrate with this software to make data management seamless and efficient. The software cross references patient insurances to ensure what coverage they qualify for and identifies additional services that the patient is eligible for.

Some of the services that can be provided with this care include the Annual Wellness Visit, Advance Care Planning, Pre-Visit questionnaires, various lab test intakes, and substance abuse screening. The patient is sent a link via email or text message to begin population of the information which is then completed in the office. Patient reminders can be sent and customized messaging. A superbill complete with coding is generated by the system for ease of reimbursement.

This software helps the practice by engaging patients regularly and giving them peace of mind on costs and eligibility. The practice can expect to see an increase in revenue due to improved utilization of these important tests. Quality scoring for MACRA/MIPS can make the practice eligible for revenue bonusing under this scheme as patient health outcomes improve.

Proactively offering preventive services and educating patients around their eligibility will help alleviate the core obstacles in utilizing these vital services. As we move to a quality-based system, preventive care should be front of mind and doesn’t need to be difficult for patients or physicians.

To find out more about improving your MACRA/MIPS scoring with added programs contact your ancillary consultant.