Wcpec.org ? Blog Archive ? Health Clubs as Healthcare Providers

There are three major reasons why health clubs now have the opportunity to support and enhance the healthcare system. First, the healthcare continuum has expanded to include preventive and health promotion services that aim to limit the cost burden (see Figure 1).

The demand from consumers, insurers and corporaons has become so great that either health clubs will respond and take advantage of this opportunity, or healthcare providers will do it themselves. It is in the best interest of health clubs to offer these services in affiliation with healthcare providers. Second, health clubs are a market-driven business, responsive to the changing desire among consumers to maximize their health.

Third, over the past decade, health clubs have matured from gyms that only attract ?jocks,? to fitness centers that attract individuals who want more control over their lives through fitness, to health clubs, where deconditioned individuals go for professional expertise to help them progress from one fitness level to the next.

To take advantage of the healthcare opportunity, health club owners must accept their role by expanding programs, communicating their availabilities to consumers, and creating liaisons with healthcare providers.

To better understand how the health club industry can enhance the healthcare system, it is important to understand the recent changes that have occurred in the healthcare system.

Source: http://www.wcpec.org/health-clubs-as-healthcare-providers.html

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