Step #9 Toward Being Trusted Facilities Where Physicians Refer Their Patients [Connecting Health Clubs to Healthcare Series]

Research conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health between May 2019 and February 2020 compiled data from physicians about characteristics of health & fitness centers/exercise professionals that they trust to refer their patients. Step #9 of a 10-step roadmap for health & fitness centers toward being trusted facilities where physicians refer their patients is:

Raise physicians’ awareness of your facility’s infrastructure.

Physicians note the importance of a health & fitness center’s infrastructure, such as equipment that is safe, inclusive and meets the needs of their patients. They also cite its accessibility (e.g., convenience, hours, price). Increase physicians’ knowledge of your facility’s location, hours of operation, equipment, affordability, programming and services as a good fit for their patients.

And so then they have the opportunity to use different equipment, and the classes, and they have a swimming pool there, so it is a great way to get people into a program and then they can decide what equipment they like. Physician

Bantham, A. (2020). Perspectives on Exercise Prescriptions/Referrals and Patient Exercise Behavior Change: A Mixed Methods Study of Physicians and Exercise Professionals (Doctoral dissertation).