Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1358392
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 27 with that system if they'd prefer to continue to work outside of that system. That said, these collaborations and partnerships and previously unexplored ideas that challenge the status quo will benefit all of us—not only as practitioners but also as people who will, ourselves, need health care and as people who love people who will need it too. We can continue to see our clients as we have been while we open our minds to a future that's bigger than any of our individual practices. Note 1. Terry Shih, Lena M. Chen, and Brahmajee K. Nallamothu, "Will Bundled Payments Change Health Care? Examining the Evidence Thus Far in Cardiovascular Care," Circulation 131, no. 24 (June 16, 2015): 2,155–58, https://doi.org/10.1161/ CIRCULATIONAHA.114.010393; NEJM Catalyst Staff, "What Are Bundled Payments?," NEJM Catalyst (February 28, 2018), https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.18.0247. Cal Cates is an educator, writer, and speaker on topics ranging from massage therapy in the hospital setting to end-of-life care and massage therapy policy and regulation. A founding director of the Society for Oncology Massage from 2007–2014 and current executive director and founder of Healwell, Cates works within and beyond the massage therapy community to elevate the level of practice and integration of massage overall and in health care specifically. Cates also is the co-creator of the podcasts Massage Therapy Without BordersandInterdisciplinary. relying on intuition. We say things like, "I'm not sure why I spent extra time there. It just felt like it would be useful." We live and work in this space of watching creation unfold before us. We lead and follow simultaneously. We trust our hands. Why should this be any different? It's possible we're even better at what's needed here than any of our fellow collaborators. We add value to this equation of creation. This new way of providing care will make use of per diem reimbursement structures, Medicaid waivers, bundled payments, 1 and other opportunities yet to be imagined. These are opportunities that will magnify the imperative for us to become integrated providers. Collaborating with other providers of care will augment the ability of massage therapists to improve outcomes. It will also mean that individual providers, in many cases, will be saved from having to personally "take" insurance. Participating in and being at the table as these new models are created requires that we up our game. We have to learn about and understand these models. We need to use our personal experience as health-care consumers and our passion as providers to support creative new avenues to bring our value to real people. As we keep talking, let's also keep breathing deeply. If you love the handful (or armload) of clients you see each week, and they can afford your rates and will continue to benefit from your care, what I am proposing here will not endanger your ability to continue to do that. The ability for patients to access care through insurance mechanisms will never require providers to engage FOR MORE INFORMATION Listen to Episode 6 of Interdisciplinary to hear from Chanda Hinton, a love-driven interdisciplinary powerhouse. Chanda talks about how integrative care saved her life, and what she is doing to ensure everyone has access to services. healwell.org/s1e6-you-have-the-power Massage therapists can fit perfectly into the new emerging paradigm, nudged by both COVID-19 and forces that were already in motion. Community- based, collaborative care is the future we will be working in.