Increasing Compliance with Annual Preventative Visits in Adults Ages 18-64 with Medicaid

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to increase compliance with annual preventative visits in adults ages 18 to 64 with Medicaid by identifying facilitators and barriers. Background. Annual preventative visits increase preventative care uptake and the detection and treatment of chronic disease (Liss et al., 2024). However, completion rates for annual preventative visits have been suboptimal, especially for those with Medicaid or without health insurance and between the age range of 18 to 64. Increasing compliance with annual preventative visits is essential to reduce the burden of chronic disease in the U.S. This also aligns with an objective of Healthy People 2030, which is to “Increase the proportion of adults who get recommended evidence-based preventative health care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Methods. Patients at the Ginger Ryan Clinic (GRC) who met inclusion criteria (between the ages of 18 and 64 and having Medicaid insurance) were asked to complete a survey to identify facilitators and barriers to compliance with annual preventative visits. The principal investigator (PI) wrote the ten survey questions based on facilitators and barriers to preventative care identified in the literature review. The patient service representatives (PSRs) distributed surveys to patients who met the inclusion criteria and were willing to participate in the waiting room at check-in for appointments. Surveys were distributed over two weeks. Results. A total of 23 surveys were collected. The surveys successfully identified facilitators and barriers to compliance with annual preventative visits. These included age, gender, having a usual source of care, frequency of visits to the clinic per year, health beliefs, and reminders to schedule. Conclusions. Identifying facilitators and barriers to compliance with annual preventative visits is a vital first step in increasing compliance. While this project did identify some facilitators and barriers, future research and PDSA cycles are needed to strengthen the available evidence and define what facilitators and barriers should be focused on.