May 5, 2022
National Women’s Health Week
The second week of May has been designated as National Women’s Health Week. This week coincides with Mother’s Day. It reminds us to take care of all the important women in our lives. National Women’s Health Week is recognized with community outreach, screenings, social media events, and educational opportunities to promote awareness of the importance of prevention, early detection, and treatment of diseases that can occur in women as well as to promote healthy living and overall well-being.
Dates:
2022 - May 8th-May 14th
2023 - May 14th-May 22nd
2024 - May 12th-May 18th
2025- May 11th- May 17th
Several steps that you can take to promote women’s’ health include:
- Encouraging your patients to schedule annual wellness visits
- Educating your patients on healthy habits such as exercising, eating a well-balanced diet including foods that are low in salt, fat, and cholesterol, lowering stress levels, controlling weight (or losing weight if needed), quitting smoking, avoiding/reducing alcohol use, and getting enough sleep.
- Evaluating your patients’ mental well-being during medical visits.
To learn more about Medicare-covered services, visit CMS Medicare Preventive Services
- Annual Wellness Visit (AWV)
- Screening Mammography
- Screening for Cervical Cancer with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Tests
- Screening Pelvic Examinations (includes a clinical breast examination)
- Screening Pap Tests
- Cardiovascular Disease Screening Tests
- Depression Screening
- Intensive Behavioral Therapy (IBT) for Obesity
- Counseling to Prevent Tobacco Use
- Alcohol Misuse Screening & Counseling
For More Information:
- National Women's Health Week | Office on Women's Health (womenshealth.gov)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Women’s Health
- Preventive & Screening Services (medicare.gov)
- MLN Booklet (MLN909032) December 2020- Screening Pap Tests & Pelvic Exams (cms.gov)
- National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Screening for Cervical Cancer with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) (210.2.1) (cms.gov)
- National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Screening Pap Smears and Pelvic Examinations for Early Detection of Cervical or Vaginal Cancer (210.2) (cms.gov)
- National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Mammograms (220.4) (cms.gov)
- National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Screening for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and High-Intensity Behavioral Counseling (HIBC) to Prevent STIs (210.10) (cms.gov)
- NCD - Screening for Depression in Adults (210.9) (cms.gov)
- NCD - Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Obesity (210.12) (cms.gov)
- NCD - Counseling to Prevent Tobacco Use (210.4.1) (cms.gov)
- NCD - Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care to Reduce Alcohol Misuse (210.8) (cms.gov)
Reference
- National Women’s Health Week - May 8–14. (n.d.). National Today. https://nationaltoday.com/national-womens-health-week/