TY - JOUR
T1 - Mental Health Referrals Among Medicare Advantage Enrollees Receiving Home-Based Annual Wellness Visits in Puerto Rico During the COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Akiya, Kelley
AU - Palacios, Sofia
AU - Silver, Diana
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2024/3
Y1 - 2024/3
N2 - Annual Wellness Visits (AWV) promote preventive care for older adults, yet uptake remains low. To increase AWVs, a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan in Puerto Rico contracted a medical group to provide home-based AWVs during the last quarter of 2020. Using data from 464 visits, we conducted descriptive and multivariable analysis to profile patient characteristics and identify predictors of mental health referrals. We found that 87% of patients had multiple chronic conditions, 75% were taking more than 5 medications, and the odds of a mental health referral were higher for those who also had a nutrition-related condition (AOR = 5.05, CI95: 1.76–11.88), diabetes (AOR = 3.34, CI95: 1.18–7.58), or an additional reported uncontrolled health issue (AOR = 28.18, CI95: 8.96–70.59). This strategy helped one MA plan reach high-need patients, but coordination of follow-up care is needed to ensure patients receive recommended services.
AB - Annual Wellness Visits (AWV) promote preventive care for older adults, yet uptake remains low. To increase AWVs, a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan in Puerto Rico contracted a medical group to provide home-based AWVs during the last quarter of 2020. Using data from 464 visits, we conducted descriptive and multivariable analysis to profile patient characteristics and identify predictors of mental health referrals. We found that 87% of patients had multiple chronic conditions, 75% were taking more than 5 medications, and the odds of a mental health referral were higher for those who also had a nutrition-related condition (AOR = 5.05, CI95: 1.76–11.88), diabetes (AOR = 3.34, CI95: 1.18–7.58), or an additional reported uncontrolled health issue (AOR = 28.18, CI95: 8.96–70.59). This strategy helped one MA plan reach high-need patients, but coordination of follow-up care is needed to ensure patients receive recommended services.
KW - chronic conditions
KW - health services
KW - managed care
KW - mental health
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U2 - 10.1177/07334648231205983
DO - 10.1177/07334648231205983
M3 - Article
C2 - 38018418
AN - SCOPUS:85178430511
SN - 0733-4648
VL - 43
SP - 287
EP - 292
JO - Journal of Applied Gerontology
JF - Journal of Applied Gerontology
IS - 3
ER -