For physicians
Fitting the assessments to an annual wellness visit
The Medicare annual wellness visit already requires several of the things this suite measures. The difference is measuring them instead of asking about them.
What the wellness visit already asks for
A wellness visit is built around a health risk assessment, a review of medical and family history, a medication and supplement list, routine measurements, detection of cognitive impairment, a review of functional ability and level of safety including fall risk, and a written screening schedule. Three of those — cognitive detection, fall risk and functional ability — are conventionally satisfied by a questionnaire.
Where measurement substitutes for a questionnaire
| Wellness visit element | Conventional method | Measured alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Detection of cognitive impairment | Observation or brief informal questioning | A structured screening instrument administered by a certified rater, producing a comparable baseline |
| Fall risk | “Have you fallen in the past year?” | Vestibular, oculomotor, orthostatic and peripheral sensory measurement |
| Functional ability and safety | Self-report | Body composition and segmental muscle distribution, plus balance testing |
| Routine measurements | Height, weight, BMI, blood pressure | The same, plus body composition, waist circumference and measured resting energy expenditure |
| Written screening schedule | A generic age-and-sex schedule | The same schedule, with repeat intervals set by what the measurements actually showed |
Sequencing inside a real clinic day
The assessments do not all have to happen in the wellness visit itself, and in most practices they should not.
- Before the visit: history, medication and supplement list, and the health risk assessment. Fasting instructions issued if metabolic rate or laboratory work is planned.
- Separate testing appointment: the instrument-based assessments, performed by trained staff. This is where the time goes and it does not need to occupy physician time.
- The wellness visit itself: review of the completed measurements, the cognitive screen if it was not done at testing, the personalized prevention plan, and the written screening schedule built from the results.
Splitting it this way is the difference between a wellness visit that runs to time and one that does not. Staffing and workflow sets out who does what.
The written screening schedule is the deliverable
The element most often produced as a template is the one that benefits most from measurement. A schedule that says “repeat vascular assessment in 12 months because the stiffness index was borderline” is a different document from one that says “annual.” It also gives the patient a reason to come back that is theirs rather than the calendar’s.
For patients: the same subject written for the person having the assessment is at what to expect at an appointment.
Talk to someone about testing
Tell us what you are trying to find out and we will explain which Measura assessments answer that question, what each one involves, and how the results are reviewed with a clinician.
4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 201, St. Louis, MO 63134. Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please do not send symptoms, diagnoses or images through a web form — a website form is not a secure medical channel. Call us with clinical detail.
Common questions
Can the testing be done on the same day as the wellness visit?
It can, but the full suite plus a wellness visit is a long morning for the patient. Splitting them usually works better. How long testing takes.
Who performs the cognitive screen?
A trained rater; consistency of administration matters more than who holds the pencil. What a baseline is for.
Does this require the physician to be in the room throughout?
Supervision requirements vary by study and setting. Supervision and staffing.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP, medical director of Measura. Last reviewed .