Shared Decision Guide from Americans in Motion

Family physicians and their practice teams play a vital role in encouraging patients to lead healthy lives through physical activity, healthy eating and emotional well being — that is, through fitness. Your practice has taken a major step toward improving your patients' fitness by participating in AIM-HI.

AIM-HI presents fitness as "the treatment of choice" for prevention and management of many chronic conditions. AIM-HI was developed by family physicians for family physicians and the family medicine office environment. In part, this approach was adapted from "Am I Hungry?," a multidimensional program developed by family physician Michelle May, MD.

Create a fitness focus in your practice through implementation of the following critical steps:

Step 1: Raise awareness among clinicians and office staff regarding their own personal physical activity, nutrition and emotional well-being, and encourage everyone to make changes for better health. This is covered in "Fostering a Healthy Office."

Step 2: Create an office environment that is conducive to integrating AIM-HI concepts in everyday office routines. This is covered in "Integrating Fitness Into Your Practice."

Step 3: Use the AIM-HI philosophy and tools to help your patients improve their fitness. This is covered in "Working With Patients."

Step 4: Improve clinician and staff knowledge of the central role of physical activity, nutrition and emotional well-being in health. This is covered in "Foundations for Fitness."

The AIM-HI approach relies on three critical tools that all family medicine practices are encouraged to adopt:

On the AIM website, you will find supplementary patient education handouts you can use to stimulate dialogue with patients. Feel free to expand on the AIM-HI concepts and materials to suit your practice and patient populations.

Implement AIM-HI sequentially. The goal is to maximize awareness and integration of AIM-HI steps at the practice level before you adopt strategies at the patient level.