In mid-December 2018, Andrew Lewarne, Executive Director of the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of Ontario (RMTAO) met with Greenshield Canada (GSC) representatives David Willows – Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer, and Ned Pojskic, Leader of Pharmacy & Health Provider Relations. Lewarne requested the meeting regarding a provocative Autumn 2010 news post on the Greenshield Canada website, Elephant in the (Waiting) Room https://www.greenshield.ca/en-ca/news/post/the-elephant-in-the-waiting-room.
Lewarne expressed “firm objection to the article’s false and misleading messages and emphasized the important role of massage therapy in health care.”[1] Willows and Pojskic agreed to adjust some of the inflammatory wording but declined to remove the post. Promisingly, the GSC pair took RMTAO materials highlighting research in massage therapy, and agreed on future meetings which include RMTs with higher level education and research perspective.
On the heels of the RMTAO objection, Deetria Egeli, RMT and board member with the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of British Columbia (RMTBC) submitted a January 4th, 2019 letter to address the angst suffered by RMTBC’s membership on this same issue. https://gallery.mailchimp.com/d386e1f0c4cfc3315ec6794a8/files/224a0ad8-a18a-4944-afa8-ad91569a4acc/Greenshield.Letter_D.Egeli_.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3RT_tSRpVv3TxE1mSiNxBGpMVBgUZw92_WLnBunWMMygayrVFxbEKTuko
Egeli’s letter reflected her perspective as a practitioner, highlighting populations she has served and conditions treated, with an emphasis on her rigorous education and training. Egeli provided several examples of massage therapy research, and posed the question to GSC, “(have you asked) why patients value massage therapy?” Egeli challenges the “deliberate and discriminatory” statements made by GSC in the Elephant post. Egeli assures the insurers, “I do not see anyone for hedonistic purposes”….
Read the full article plus seven other helpful links and a podcast on the subject at the Massage Therapy Canada website.
[1] The Friday File, RMTAO, December 14, 2018