Registered Massage Therapists (RMT) are highly educated professionals with vast knowledge of human anatomy. Due to this education and compliance with provincial regulations, RMTs can offer therapeutic and medical massage treatments often covered by insurance plans.

Opting for an RMT may be the optimal way to address specific health concerns while having insurance cover their treatments. Below you will learn more about what differentiates an RMT from LMT:

Education

While some states do not mandate massage therapists to have a bachelor’s degree, most do. LMTs typically hold licenses to perform basic techniques that promote overall wellness such as Swedish, deep tissue and hot stone massage – as well as more specific techniques tailored specifically towards treating symptoms or ailments.

RMTs must follow an extensive route to certification; this involves taking comprehensive coursework and passing a challenging national exam. They are regulated as healthcare professionals in many countries around the world including Canada where they must abide by professional associations or regulatory bodies’ standards of performance.

RMTs also possess extensive knowledge of therapeutic massage techniques and healthcare concepts such as anatomy and pathology, which they utilize to assess clients and design individualized treatment plans for them. RMTs often work closely with medical professionals, while their services may even be covered by health insurance plans.

Experience with learning new modalities face-to-face is paramount to becoming a successful massage therapist. Online registered massage therapist courses for continuing education courses cannot compete with having someone physically watch and provide instant feedback on a modality you perform; thus, we advise enrolling in an RMT education program as opposed to online CE classes for maximum learning potential.

RMTs differ from LMTs primarily because they’re considered healthcare professions and thus regulated. Their education encompasses multiple massage techniques as well as chronic pain issues. For more information, visit the following:

Role

Recent research from 16 urban hospitals in Canada identified six roles licensed therapists fulfilled within hospital settings: care provider, program supporter, patient educator, integrator with conventional health care providers and promoter of their profession. While statistical analyses were impossible due to small sample sizes of hospitals involved, descriptive matrices provided an effective means for contextualizing role themes and providing confirmation.

These findings indicate that the role of massage therapists (learn about here) in hospital environments may be more complex than previously imagined. Patients using massage to address specific pain complaints were more likely to inform their primary care clinician of it and sign a release form (when available) authorizing their MT to communicate with health-care providers regarding their use of massage. Furthermore, many indicated they desired greater collaboration between PCPs and LMTs.

Note that anyone calling themselves a masseuse or masseur is not considered to be a regulated massage therapist by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO). Furthermore, using RMT or RM to describe themselves is illegal. A regulated therapist always has photo registration cards ready for consumers – this helps build public trust in credentials and safety.

Scope of Practice

As a massage therapist, you understand the significance of adhering to your scope of practice. Your scope of practice refers to what procedures, actions and processes you are permitted to carry out; going outside this space could jeopardize your credentials and result in license revocation.

Environment can have a great influence on one’s scope of practice – for instance, working at a day spa will impact their practice differently from working in a health clinic.

RMTs are highly-regulated healthcare professionals specializing in therapeutic massage, often covered by health insurance plans. Trained in various massage methods and anatomy/physiology studies, RMTs can assess and diagnose musculoskeletal injuries using this knowledge as well as devise treatment programs specifically tailored for each patient.

LMTs possess an in-depth training, with an emphasis on relaxation and wellness massage. They may use various techniques – including hot stone massage – to help clients relax and ease stress, as well as include aspects of mindfulness, yoga or meditation for total wellbeing and relaxation.

Both types of therapists offer distinct strengths and benefits to clients, so it is crucial that clients understand the differences. Therapists should outline their scope of practice in their client intake forms – something ClinicSense automates by sending forms directly to clients when they book appointments – which will set clear expectations. ClinicSense makes this easy with digital intake system sending forms directly to clients based on appointment booking, reducing paperwork while guaranteeing clients see a practitioner who has qualified experience treating them.

Healthcare Incorporation

The growth in investor-owned health care companies has had various political and economic consequences, as well as being met with some criticism of traditional concepts and traditions of health care delivery.

One way hospitals and other healthcare organizations can address these challenges is to incorporate as benefit corporations, which are socially responsible entities that may provide benefits not available through other entity types. This model may offer advantages not available elsewhere within the industry.

However, incorporation can be a complex and time-consuming process that needs careful thought and deliberation. Consulting with legal and financial experts will help you determine the optimal choice for your business (source: https://www.aiam.edu/massage-therapy/starting-a-massage-business/). For assistance in this regard, reach out to a reputable law group where our team of medical professionals have extensive experience.

Insurance

If you’re searching for insurance for your practice, it’s essential to remember there are various options available to you. Bundled deals offered through professional organizations may offer cost savings while also providing added perks; but before making your choice it is advisable to compare policies from multiple providers so as to find which best meets your needs.

Based on your clientele and industry, you may want to select a policy with higher limits; InsureLMT offers liability coverage up to $2 million per incident and $3 million individual annual aggregate; this maximum coverage can be held by any organization at any one time regardless of how many claims may occur during any one year.

Consider how your insurance will be administered when selecting a policy. Some have standard open enrollment periods while others provide year-round enrollment. Open enrollment periods enable you to make changes without incurring penalties; typically lasting 30-60 days when triggered by qualifying life events such as marriage, divorce, giving birth/adopting children/moving house.