Improving Exercise Prescribing in a Rural New England Free Clinic

This quality improvement project was undertaken to improve exercise prescribing frequency and quality in a rural New England free clinic. Prescribing guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians were used. Following a provider education program and workgroup-implemented documentation changes, overall exercise prescription frequency increased significantly from 34.6% in the pre-intervention group to 65.0% in the post-intervention group (P < .05). The use of some prescription elements (frequency, intensity, and timing) improved significantly (P < .05). Further study from the patient perspective is warranted.