Exercise is Medicine

Making a Difference in Your Health Care Setting

One of the most important decisions your patients will make regarding their overall health is to incorporate regular physical activity (PA) into their lives. Your encouragement can be a powerful influence in this decision. The EIM Summary Sheet provides a quick overview of Exercise is Medicine® and the recommended physical activity guidelines. EIM has developed a step-by-step Health Care Providers' Action Guide to help you integrate physical activity into your practice. The Rx for Health series of patient handouts provides supporting information to patients with various medical conditions and for sedentary adults, older adults, teens and children.

We understand that your time is limited, and every minute counts. The HCP Action Guide provides an implementation framework to help you utilize all the members of your clinical team to:

assess the current PA level of your patient;
provide brief advice and/or write an exercise prescription
refer your patient to physical activity resources (programs, places, professionals, or self-directed resources).

To help you get started, here are additional resources and answers to frequently asked questions:

Where do I start?

Know the basic national physical activity recommendations and share these with your patients. At minimum, encourage your patients to decrease their sedentary time and integrate short periods of activity over the course of a day (walking, standing, any and all movement, etc). Provide the EIM "Sit Less. Move More." handout. Every active minute counts!

How do I best assess my patient's activity level in the least amount of time?

Have your medical assistant assess physical activity using the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) before you enter the exam room. 2 questions, simple math, and bam!

Is it safe for my patient to engage in physical activity?

Most patients can begin light to moderate physical activity without screening. In fact, their health will be negatively affected if they remain inactive! The ACSM screening algorithm can help guide your decision-making.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, what should I be telling my patients about exercise and physical activity?

Moderate-intensity physical activity (such as a 30-60 minute brisk walk) has been shown to have positive effects on immune function, particularly for those over age 65, as well as improve immune responses to vaccination. Encourage patients to be active while following social distancing recommendations. Provide EIM handouts for adults and parents with children.

Does my patient need medical clearance before starting physical activity?

Use the ACSM screening algorithm to identify patients who may need further work-up prior to initiating moderate to vigorous physical activity.

How do I know how much physical activity to prescribe?

See this brief summary entitled "Exercise is Medicine: The Miracle Drug". Use the Rx for Health series for patients with certain medical conditions or age groups.

How do I fit a physical activity prescription into my busy practice?

Involve every member of your team to make it easier for everyone - you included! See how.

Is there a prescription template?

The EIM Rx form can be filled out and given to the patient or uploaded into the EHR for inclusion in the after-visit summary.

Do you have a step-by-step guide to help me integrate physical activity into my practice?

Yes! EIM's Clinical Practice Committee has created the EIM Health Care Provider Action Guide to help you integrate physical activity into patient encounters using the SBIRT model.

I am not sure what a brief discussion of activity will accomplish, so what is the possibility that my counseling will change my patient's behavior?

Studies show that brief physician counseling can induce a small, but significant increase in the number of patients meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations particularly among those at risk for cardiovascular disease. Repeat PA prescriptions help maintain this effect and referral to appropriate PA resources or programs helps even more.

References:
BM Pinto et al.
Z Sabti et al
C Di Loreto et al
EA O'Connor et al

I see several resources on the Exercise is Medicine website, but what is the minimum that I should review as I begin to learn the best way to counsel my patients?

Read the EIM Summary Sheet and/or peruse the Rx for Health patient handout library. Note that there are specific handouts for older adults, teens and parents of young children, as well as many common chronic medical conditions. Find out what matters to the patient and empower them to choose physical activity options that resonate.

Print this Page

Gold level recognition is the highest level of recognition and signifies the implementation of one or several components of the EIM Solution on the University campus, with the potential of extending into the local community. Community partnerships provide real world experience for students, while providing service to the local community.

Gold level campuses must assess physical activity as a vital sign.

A Gold level campus must also be engaged in at least (1) of the following:

* My campus assesses their patients' physical activity as a vital sign?

Yes No

* My campus is creating collaborations between university health care professionals and exercise professionals to provide physical activity prescriptions?

Yes No

* My campus has non-clinical professionals/departments directing students, faculty, and/or staff to the recreation center for health and fitness counseling?

Yes No

* My campus has a computer-based system to track patient participation in physical activity interventions?

Yes No

Other:

Silver level recognition includes activities related to awareness and promotion, and incorporates education for the university’s students, faculty, staff, and health care professionals, as well as those in the surrounding community, on EIM and its mission on campus. Silver campuses are actively engaged in educating others on the EIM solution for both the treatment and prevention of long-term illness and disease. University students are educated on the aims of EIM in health care, potentially certified as EIM health fitness professionals, and guided on how they can play a role in making physical activity an integral part of health care.

Silver level campuses must be engaged in at least (3) of the following: * My campus hosts classes that teach students the fundamentals of EIM on Campus and their potential role in fulfilling the mission of EIM?

Yes No

* My campus trains students to educate campus community members on EIM and the importance of physical activity as medicine?

Yes No

* My campus works with campus health services so that every health care provider discusses physical activity with every patient or client?

Yes No

Other:

Bronze level recognition is the first step in creating the EIM initiative on Campus. These campuses bring attention to the growing need for physical activity and take action in helping to create a healthier, more active campus environment.

Bronze level campuses create awareness of the importance of exercise and regular physical activity for health and promote exercise to students, faculty, staff and the community through engagement in any of the following activities. Bronze level campuses must engage in at least (3) of the following:

* My campus hosts events that promote physical activity?

Yes No

* My campus markets events that encourage all campus members to discuss physical activity with their health care professional?

Yes No

* My campus has created options for exercise that are easily accessible to the campus community?

Yes No

* My campus has completed a Mayoral, Governor, or University President EIM on Campus Month Proclamation?

Yes No

Other:

* Contact Person/Program Director:

* Resource Type (check all that apply):
Clinic or Hospital (inpatient) Community
Clinic or Hospital (outpatient) Home Based
Cancer Exercise Professional Digital/Online
Research Study

* What age groups are included (check all that apply)?
Adult Pediatric

* What cancer types are included in your program?

* What stages of treatment are included (check all that apply)?
Curative    Palliative
During Treatment    Post Treatment
Rehabilitation    Prehabilitation

* Who refers into the program? (How do clients access your program?) (check all that apply)
Client Clinician
Other

* What are the qualifications of the instructors?

* Is there a baseline safety evaluation of the client?

* If yes, performed by whom (check all that apply)?
Instructor Physician
Other

* What is the program duration? (e.g.; 12 weeks, 1 year)

* What is the frequency of sessions per week?

* Are sessions conducted in groups or individualized (check all that apply)?
Group Individualized

* How many years has the program been running?

* How many clients go through your program per year?

* Has your program ever been evaluated or audited?

* Please include a brief description (250 words or less) summarizing the above information:

* Who filled out this form?

* What is your role in the program?

We understand that your time is limited, and every minute counts. The HCP Action Guide provides an implementation framework to help you utilize all the members of your clinical team to:

assess the current PA level of your patient;
provide brief advice and/or write an exercise prescription
refer your patient to physical activity resources (programs, places, professionals, or self-directed resources).

To help you get started, here are additional resources and answers to frequently asked questions:

Where do I start?

How do I best assess my patient's activity level in the least amount of time?

Have your medical assistant assess physical activity using the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) before you enter the exam room. 2 questions, simple math, and bam!

Is it safe for my patient to engage in physical activity?

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, what should I be telling my patients about exercise and physical activity?

Does my patient need medical clearance before starting physical activity?

Use the ACSM screening algorithm to identify patients who may need further work-up prior to initiating moderate to vigorous physical activity.

How do I know how much physical activity to prescribe?

See this brief summary entitled "Exercise is Medicine: The Miracle Drug". Use the Rx for Health series for patients with certain medical conditions or age groups.

How do I fit a physical activity prescription into my busy practice?

Involve every member of your team to make it easier for everyone - you included! See how.

Is there a prescription template?

The EIM Rx form can be filled out and given to the patient or uploaded into the EHR for inclusion in the after-visit summary.

Do you have a step-by-step guide to help me integrate physical activity into my practice?

Yes! EIM's Clinical Practice Committee has created the EIM Health Care Provider Action Guide to help you integrate physical activity into patient encounters using the SBIRT model.

I am not sure what a brief discussion of activity will accomplish, so what is the possibility that my counseling will change my patient's behavior?

I see several resources on the Exercise is Medicine website, but what is the minimum that I should review as I begin to learn the best way to counsel my patients?

MENU

Health Care Providers

Making a Difference in Your Health Care Setting

resources