Seattle Massage News

At this morning's meeting of the Medical Massage Alliance, Larisa tossed out a great marketing idea for massage therapists. Just as you see your dentist regularly to make sure your teeth are healthy, and just as you see your chiropractor to make sure your bones and joints are healthy, you should see your massage therapist regularly to make sure your muscles are healthy. I love this idea. It gives both me and my clients something beyond the "it feels good, so let's keep doing it" rationale for regular wellness massage. We all understand the benefits of massage, but this idea is a good reminder of a fundamental reason to get regular massage.

You always need a prescription for medical massage, even if your plan says you can self-refer. Here's why. It's not in my scope of practice as a massage therapist to diagnose, yet the insurance billing forms require a diagnosis code before they will pay. If I were to just make up a diagnosis code and put it on the form, I could probably get paid, but I'd be breaking the law and putting my cherished massage license at risk. So I always need a prescription from your doctor before commencing medical massage treatments. Also, virtually all insurance policies now require that massage be "medically necessary," which is another judgment that is outside of my scope of practice, and they almost all require a "formal, written treatment plan" from your doctor. The quickest way to take care of all of these requirements is to have your doctor fill out my "Massage Therapy Referral / Prescription / Treatment Plan" form.

Unfortunately, the different arms of the typical insurance company don't do a good job of communicating with each other and/or they don't understand the laws regarding the scope of practice for massage therapists, so you are very likely to get a customer service rep on the phone insisting that you don't need a prescription or referral to get them to pay for your massage. Sorry, but that's just not correct.

Insurance companies continue to closely monitor reimbursements for massage treatments. I've got a couple of patients whose payments have been suspended until they file an appeal. All of these appeals (and other disputes/issues with insurance companies) keep coming back to the same issues: medical necessity and treatment plans. To help both my patients and me avoid bureaucratic hassles down the road, I will now require (in addition to the usual prescription or referral) a statement of medical necessity and a "formal, written treatment plan" (that's the language in most policies now) from your doctor before beginning medical massage treatments. The quickest way to take care of this is to have your doctor use the "Massage Therapy Referral / Prescription / Treatment Plan" form available on the Seattle massage referral info page my web site. This one form includes all three elements: prescription/referral, statement of medical necessity, and a treatment plan.

Got a call from Ryan Moore with Junior Achievement of Washington. He's looking for volunteers to do sports massage at an event later this summer. On Saturday August 13th, 2005, a hundred or so (maybe more) swimmers will brave the 51 degree waters of Puget Sound in support of Junior Achievement. Each swimmer has pledged to raised at least $2,500. Participants will swim the 3.5 mile channel crossing from Bainbridge Island to Alki Beach in West Seattle. Don't worry, they'll be wearing wet suits. But they will be very hungry and likely in need of some sports massage when they get to Alki. If you're interested in volunteering to do some pro bono sports massage late morning/early afternoon on Aturday, August 13, call Ryan at 206-296-2628 or e-mail him.

Brian Utting has sold his massage school to Cortiva, a relatively new company that is buying up high-quality massage schools around the country. It sounds like this will be a good deal for massage students and BUSM alumni. Cortiva will give the school business resources while keeping the current faculty (Brian's announcement of the sale says that "the teachers and staff WILL be staying on, and so will [Brian]"). Current students will benefit from Brian's ability to focus on teaching and curriculum development, and we alumni will have access to Cortiva's national placement service and their network of graduates from other top schools.

I met James Waslaski at the AMTA meeting in Nashville last fall and asked him when he planned to teach in Seattle. He didn't have plans, but was open to it. I hooked him up with the Brian Utting CE folks and he'll be here Sept. 9-11 doing an orthopedic massage workshop, which I plan to attend. On his web site it says that James is "past chair of the AMTA National Sports Massage Education Council, is an author and international lecturer who has pioneered deep, pain-free orthopedic massage and sports injury treatments." He has an eclectic approach, a broad background in all kinds of sports medicine, a stellar reputation, and seems like a really nice guy. More info on the course is available on the Brian Utting continuing education page. For more on James, see the Orthomassage.net web site.