Definition
Annual Wellness Visit (AWV)
The Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) is a yearly Medicare Part B benefit focused on prevention: a provider develops or updates a personalized prevention plan, reviews health risks, and checks that screenings are current. It is not a head-to-toe physical exam, and it is covered with no cost sharing for eligible Medicare beneficiaries.
Definition
What an Annual Wellness Visit is
The Annual Wellness Visit is a preventive benefit covered once a year under Medicare Part B. During it, the provider builds or updates a personalized prevention plan, reviews the patient's medical and family history, screens for cognitive and functional risks, and confirms which recommended screenings and vaccines are due.
It is distinct from an annual physical. The AWV is a planning and risk-review visit, covered with no coinsurance or deductible when billed correctly, and it is a natural moment to identify and schedule the screenings and follow-up that close care gaps and feed quality measures.
For value-based practices and ACOs, the AWV is a high-value visit to book, so getting eligible patients scheduled is a core outreach task. Rivvi calls and texts patients due for their wellness visit, books them into the schedule, confirms, and writes the outcome back, from a branded number and inside TCPA rules.
Annual Wellness Visits, answered
- Is an Annual Wellness Visit the same as a physical?
- No. The Annual Wellness Visit is a prevention-planning and risk-review appointment, not a hands-on physical exam. It focuses on updating a personalized prevention plan, reviewing history and risks, and confirming that recommended screenings are current, and it is covered by Medicare with no cost sharing when billed correctly.
- Who is eligible for an AWV?
- Medicare Part B beneficiaries are eligible for an Annual Wellness Visit once every 12 months, after their first 12 months of Part B coverage. New enrollees may first receive the one-time Welcome to Medicare preventive visit, then become eligible for the yearly AWV thereafter.
- Why do practices prioritize booking AWVs?
- The AWV is a covered, high-value touchpoint that surfaces overdue screenings and care gaps, supports risk documentation, and strengthens quality performance in value-based contracts. Because it depends on getting eligible patients scheduled, reliable outreach to book and confirm these visits has a direct payoff.