Step I. Topic Submission: Faculty approval is required prior to beginning to write your paper
Submit your topic for your final research paper by stated due date
Here you will describe your topic in 1-2 sentences. Be as specific as possible to make the paper more focused and easier for you to write.
Do some background research BEFORE submitting your topic, so you know what your topic is and how it impacts practice.
Put your topic something like this: “My paper will discuss…”
Examples of topics: Nurse practitioner fellowships/residencies (looking at a specific aspect of these or their impact); improving breast cancer screening access for Black and African American women; COVID testing protocols; improving clinicians’ ability to distinguish alcohol abuse in older adults; effectiveness or practicality of a newer diabetes medication or injection equipment; specific psychosocial screening (e.g. complex PTSD, intimate partner violence) in the primary care setting; or primary care interventions and adequate sleep in a population.
If you’re stuck for a topic idea, I recommend looking at what is being discussed in current journals for nurse practitioners and other primary care providers. Here are some links to journals:
https://www.npjournal.org/
Links to an external site.
https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ggm
Links to an external site.
http://www.jfmpc.com/currentissue.asp?sabs=n
Links to an external site.
https://www.jabfm.org/
Links to an external site.
Once you submit, I’m going to give you feedback on your topic to make sure it’s specific enough that you can reasonably address it in five pages.
The Nurse Practitioner’s role in the Medicare Annual Wellness Assessment (AWV) for elder adults in the primary care setting with respect to the scope of practice includes a personalized plan to help with disease management. All patients who have Medicare Part B insurance for longer than 12 months are covered for a yearly “wellness” visit (“Yearly wellness visits,” n.d.). This visit can help providers and patients update the plan of care based on risk factors and current health conditions. Unfortunately, this visit is not a physical exam. During this visit, patients will fill out a “Health Risk Assessment” which can help personalize care. Within this visit, the provider will review the patient’s medical history along with family history, review current prescriptions, take routine vital signs, provide treatment options and advice, perform a cognitive assessment to assess the risk for Alzheimer’s and/or dementia, and create a screening schedule for appropriate testing and services (“Yearly wellness visits,” n.d.).
It is important that nurse practitioners are mindful when completing a wellness visit because patients are only covered for certain items and would require an out-of-pocket cost if additional tests outside of the AWV are ordered (“Yearly wellness visits,” n.d.). Providers should identify those high-risk patients and develop a plan of care to help with ongoing care. Written questionnaires are used as a useful assessment tool and the goal is to evaluate the patient’s capabilities and limitations (Dupee & Halpern, 2001). The risk assessment portion of the visit includes their evaluation of physical functioning, behavioral risks, home safety, ability to perform activities of daily living, hearing impairment, and fall risk (“Annual wellness visits providing Personalised Prevention Plan Services: Conditions for and limitations on coverage,” n.d.).
It is important that the Nurse Practitioner emphasizes the need for yearly “wellness” visits so the Medicare Annual Wellness Assessment can be completed. This can aid providers and patients to implement a plan and continuity of care.
References:
Annual wellness visits providing Personalized Prevention Plan Services: Conditions for and limitations on coverage. Federal Register :: Request Access. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-B/part-410/subpart-B/section-410.15
Dupee, R., & Halpern, R. (2001). Identifying, assessing and managing high-risk patients under Medicare risk contracts. The Journal of medical practice management: MPM. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11497315/
Yearly “wellness” visits. Annual Wellness Visit Coverage. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/yearly-wellness-visits
