is a unique “physical fitness” start-up company that offers the technology & “turn-key” service for measuring and quantifying the “benefit” of an individual’s “regular physical activity habits” to their health and health maintenance.
Our “physical fitness measurement” service is designed to be offered to patients within their primary care physician’s office.
The provision of our service within a medical office setting will elevate the importance of the patient’s measured “physical activity habits” as a component of their primary medical care.
The planned participation of the primary care physician in the review, evaluation and support of the “sufficiency” of the patient’s physical activity habits is an important feature of our service. The active involvement of the patient’s physician for providing the required “physical activity” behavioral counseling to the patient is intended to modify or re-affirm the patient’s attitude, behavior and compliance regarding their own “regular physical activity habits.”
The best measure of each patient’s “regular physical activity” is their Cardio-Respiratory Fitness (CRF). We perform a non-exercise Cardio-respiratory Fitness Test (neCFT) which provides an age and gender ranked score of each patient’s Cardio-respiratory Fitness (CRF). The neCFT score will inform the patient and the physician of the “sufficiency” of the patient’s current habitual physical activity.
The patient’s non-exercise Cardio-respiratory Fitness Test (neCFT) will be evaluated by their physician. Based upon the patient’s neCFT ranked score, their physician will take additional actions. We provide “physical activity behavioral counseling guidelines” and “physical activity prescription forms” for use by the physician for counseling patients with neCFT ranked scores which require improvement.
We anticipate health insurance coverage for this “preventive health” service based on an application which has been filed with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Cardio-respiratory Fitness as “Vital Sign” Measure and Standard
Cardio-respiratory Fitness is the function and ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems of the body to supply oxygen to large skeletal muscles when those muscles are in active use, whether during continuous movement of any kind or due to planned exercise.
Our non-exercise Cardio-respiratory Fitness Test (neCFT) provides a reliable, age and gender based, ranked score of an individual’s “sufficiency” of regular physical activity habits. The test result provides an evidence based starting point for a purposeful discussion between the physician and the patient about the importance of regular physical activity to their health. The discussion will include the review of the patient’s neCFT result, what it reveals regarding the patient’s current “physical activity habits” and if additional attention and follow-up appointments will be required for the patient.
Follow-up neCFT’s and physician counseling appointments will be required for low-scoring patients to facilitate the intended improvement in their regular physical activity habits over time. The behavioral counseling guidelines we provide are intended to support a structured and standardized protocol for the physician to guide and motivate these patients to achieve the intended improvement in their regular physical activity habits.
Qualifications of ExerMetRx and Supportive Medical Research
The Founder of ExerMetRx has devoted significant time and expense during the past ten (10) years to the research and development of a “physical fitness measurement and improvement” service for individuals that is offered by, and under the supervision and direction of, their primary care physician.
The importance of measuring and managing an individual’s Cardio-respiratory Fitness as a medical service which is provided under the direction and supervision of a physician has been actively advocated within peer-reviewed medical research during the past seven (7) years. A common theme is that a measure of Cardio-respiratory Fitness should become the “next Vital Sign” in addition to the measurement of the current vital signs of weight, body temperature, pulse and blood pressure that are assessed at every patient / physician visit.
The American Heart Association (AHA) published a Scientific Statement (Circulation 2016; 134:e653-e699) titled: “Importance of Assessing Cardio-respiratory Fitness in Clinical Practice: A Case for Fitness as a Clinical Vital Sign“
The link, below, provides a summary of the primary findings of the research studies which were cited in the AHA Scientific Statement to support the addition of a measure of Cardio-respiratory Fitness as a Vital Sign that is measured at every individual’s visit with their physician.
AHA Scientific Statement – Why Cardio-respiratory Fitness (CRF) is Important
Cardio-respiratory Fitness Improvement & Maintenance as “Measured & Monitored” by your Primary Care Physician
The non-exercise Cardio-respiratory Fitness Test (neCFT) provided by ExerMetRx evaluates and measures the effect of the most recent “habitual physical activity” of the patient based on the interdependent functions of their respiratory and circulatory systems and provides an age and gender stratified ranked score. It is designed as a screening test provided within a physician’s office. It’s purpose is to identify those patients with measured Cardio-respiratory Fitness levels that are below acceptable age & gender-based standards, which are indicative of low levels of “regular physical activity” or habitual in-activity.
These “habitually in-active” patients are prioritized for behavioral counseling by their primary care physician according to a structured, prescriptive and neCFT re-testing protocol that ExerMetRx has developed. The protocol will assist the physician in guiding the patient’s acceptance of their personal responsibility for adopting and maintaining “regular” physical activity habits. It is intended to improve the compliance of low scoring patients, over time, based upon the cycle of:
neCFT test ⇒ physician review and discussion of test result ⇒ issuance of physical activity prescription ⇒ interval of time for patient’s performance/fulfillment of prescription ⇒ neCFT re-test ⇒ follow-up physician review and discussion…….
The patient’s medical record will include documentation of this “health improvement” service. Consequently, the level of compliance & rate of improvement of affected patients over time can be analyzed and summarized to provide “proof of concept” and validation of the “health improvement” benefit for additional supportive research studies and publication.