Slide show Andrew Wolfe,LMP

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The Importance of Individualized Health Care by Andrew Wolfe LMP

Health care these days is a system of managed care. Due to the volume of patients needs, health care is inundated with symptoms and complaints that exceed the limited time capacity of health care professionals. It has been my experience, that mainstream health care is overseen not by the patients' medical providers but by a larger "all-seeing eye” focused on the bottom line. It is felt within every procedure, therapy and treatment protocol; --your insurance company. Without having the direct contact or history of the patient these decisions are made. They dictate what seems to me, that which is in the best interest of corporate insurance companies and not in the best interests of the patient. Who knows better than the person who comes into direct contact with the patient, the healthcare provider? With the many and often multiple needs of the patent and a condensed time in which to manage their care, it is a wonder more mistakes aren't being made. To address a large and ever growing number of people in need we, in the health care field, are overworked and underpaid. It is easy to overlook and by-pass an important piece in the equation in the health care puzzle; individualized quality care.
How did profits become more important than people? In an ever changing world of high finance, opportunity and the push to strive for more. we have created a giant monster. This monster is controlling us and largely dictating how we practice (which is the job of licensing boards.) Practitioners have the wisdom of understanding to know best how to manage what was once compassion in action. Our choice to serve and help others has been tainted by policies and procedures, much of which is not within our own understanding of best practice. The larger umbrella called managed care effects us all; patients and providers alike. In my experience working with insurance companies as a contracted provider, I, like many, in the process of trying to help others, am limited by narrowly defined codes and reimbursements, limiting effectiveness in treating patients with the services they require. This need for treatment sometimes necessitates patients having to go outside of the managed system where they often find a larger dollar amount dangling over their heads. It seems freedom of choice, by most standards has a price tag. Those that can afford choice can exercise this freedom while others can't due to the oppressive paralysis of inability to choose based on economics.
The other side to managed care is inconsistency. I have heard this from patients time and time again. Individualized attention seems to be lost. It's been my experience that some patients are bounced around by other practitioners having conflicting advice, different unresolved treatments and they feel the frustration of having to discuss yet again their health history, sometime within the same medical office or organization. Patients want to be heard, treated respectfully and get solid answers. I believe part of the answer lies in patient choice. This ability to choose gets lost within the shuffle and patients feel helpless to change the power of thinking to choose. A proactive patient is an empowered patient. While this may be a threat to some, it is best for the patient to think outside of the box; to be able to consider all options.
The need for private practices is necessary to fill in the gaps of this shuffle. Unfortunately it is becoming harder to find such practices and solo practitioners. Those of us not consumed by a corporate entity have been left to defend our position, holding ground that seems to be shaky at best. Yet perseverance is the human quality of the soul. We can not depart from our humanness.


Copyright 4/21 2011
Andrew Wolfe, LMP
Business owner in private practice
Harmony Licensed Massage Therapy, serving individual health care needs in
Snohomish County since 1987

www.harmonymassagetherapy.com
“Compassionate care, tough on pain.”

Cold and Flu Season and Massage by Andrew Wolfe,LMP

Bump up your immune system with a massage.

Harvest is upon us again. It is a time to gather and take in the bounty of our labors. It is also a time of reflection, a time to look within and assess our needs; to take inventory and appreciate what we have. In the medical community and with the reminders in the media, we realize it is also cold and flu season, a time when we can deplete our immune system. When this happens not just the individual suffers but all those around them do also.
As a society we have been informed of communicable diseases and how they are spread. There are many over the counter products as well as pharmaceuticals available to take in order to relieve signs and symptoms of the cold or flu. However, prevention is always the best means of intervening in the disease process. It is the responsibility of the individual to maintain their own health and well being.
You’ve heard of taking vitamins, eating healthily, drinking plenty of fluids, exercising regularly and getting adequate amounts of sleep. Have you ever thought about the act of getting a massage as a health benefit?

There are health studies , one specifically in the October issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, which found that getting even just one massage boosts your immune system. The study conducted drew blood samples from the test patients prior to and after a massage. One group received a vigorous Swedish massage and another test group were provided light touch massage. This study found that the patients who received the vigorous Swedish massage had a beneficial change in their blood levels, improving their immune system compared to the other group.
Relaxation is not the only benefit of massage therapy. Eliminating toxins is another benefit. Detoxification with massage therapy, is the elimination of toxins and byproducts in the system by way of the lymph and blood through the muscle manipulation and movement of the tissues. Stress, especially when exposed long term, adversely affects our bodies.

Massage therapy need not be just for those seeking pampering. There is a wider audience than ever before looking at the rehabilitation, disease prevention and maintenance of health through massage therapy. It is a natural and effective means of maintaining health and creating a positive sense of well being.
Dollar for dollar the time spent in getting a massage from a qualified professional LMT is an extremely economical and health-full way to boost your immune system and maintain vigorous health. Why not schedule a massage today?


Andrew Wolfe, LMP is a licensed massage practitioner based in Arlington Washington and has 23 years of full time private practice and can be reached 360-653-4657 or http://www.harmonymassagetherapy.com. Check out his face book page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-WolfeLMP-Harmony-Licensed-Massage-Therapy/145287

Reclaiming the body through healthy touch with massage therapy by Andrew Wolfe,LMP

In the state of trauma, the body, in order to survive, will protect itself. This survival instinct is apart of the evolution and adaptation of humans, regardless if the response is due to a physical threat or not. With nerve fibers to respond with sensations and the brain to release chemicals, to ready our bodies to the physical challenges, we have, within normal perimeters, the tactics to react to stress , trauma or any other perceived threat. If conditioned enough times repetitively without enough processing time for recovery, or in the case of an extended duration, patterns can develop which can be deeply seated into the mind and body. These patterns switch on easily and often trigger the event or events that created the original trauma. Post traumatic stress disorder is a common diagnosis relating to this condition. Developing coping mechanisms is one way in which order to adapt to trauma.

Isolation, guilt, blame, anxiety, fear and resentment can be a few of the emotional conditions of coping. Often one internalizes feelings, resulting in repression, depression and tension in the body. Often times other physical symptoms and/or disorders manifest as well. Other forms of coping can take place forming addictions, attachments, detachments boundary issues, etc.

Healthy touch reinforces healthy boundaries, especially in the case of physical and sexual abuse. Often times trauma, as yet another coping mechanism, one can remove themselves from feeling and residing in their body. Healthy touch reclaims the body, sending a positive message of self acceptance, embodiment, safety, trust, openness, healthy vulnerability and self love.

Andrew Wolfe is a holistic Licensed Massage Practitioner in Smokey Point, located in the Cumulus Park Health Care Center , 16410 Smokey Point Blvd Suite 303 Arlington WA 98223 . He owns and operates Harmony Licensed Massage Therapy, currently for 23 years. He can be reached at 360-653-4657.
Please visit http://www.harmonymassagetherapy.com
Video link:
http://www.youtuhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_CxYsuGK38

Medical Massage and Insurance Coverage by Andrew Wolfe,LMP

Medical massage therapy is recognized as a health care provision under rehabilitation outpatient coverage under most major medical plans. Specific plan coverage’s vary according to the benefit package your plan and/or employer offer. Medical massage therapy definition is the ability to heal, restore and improve function which was other wise compromised due to illness,injury,disease or surgery. It must be a part of a treatment plan your primary care provider recommends as medically necessary to restore lost function.
Provisions are also given towards motor vehicle accident (PIP)and worker's compensation-labor and industry (L&I), job injury recovery care claims. Like wise, verification and preauthorization must be met prior to starting care.
The variation of massage therapy are vast, according to the training and experience of the licensed massage therapist. State laws are in place for licensing and certification. When looking for a therapists, find one with further education beyond the standard education and training as well as, consider their skill level, when seeking out care. When injured you should seek out a massage therapist with skill, training and experience compatible with the injuries and sustained ailments that you have. For instance, you would not want to seek out a massage therapist who specializes in spa massage. Injury treatment is specialized and has specific protocol and training, whereas spa massage does not. Insurance companies WILL NOT recognize a "feel good" spa approach as a medical procedure. A consumer should also ask about how is the facility or practice run, what kind of specialized training do they have, what kinds of clinical and/or experience have they have in treating specific dysfunctions. Recommendations from your primary health care provider, local hospitals are a good resource to find an experienced therapist. There is also a number of organizations such as the American Massage Therapy Association that has a referral source of massage therapists available at www.amtamassage.org
For the best results, advocate self-education and consumer awareness. As well as have a proactive approach. Be a willing participate in your healing and recovery will happen.

This information was supplied by Andrew Wolfe,LMP of Harmony Licensed Massage Therapy a medical massage therapist with 23 years of local, full time clinical private practice; since 1987.With expertise in the field of rehabilitation medical massage therapy he has advanced himself beyond the standard training and clinical experience. He has produced audio book of health and massage therapy as well as a U Tube video. For more information about this or other topics please visit;www.harmonymassagetherapy.com

The Value of Massage by Andrew Wolfe,LMP

Health care is on the minds of most people, whether they have it, need it, or don't have the right policy due to financial infeasibility, to acquire or maintain it. Unfortunately when it comes to health, if you don't invest in it now, you pay for it later, as the investment of our bodies seem to yield higher rates of health issue returns to our lives as we age. As it stands now, preventative health is not recognized under most health insurance policies unless it comes in the form of exams in the context of a physical and or lab testing, which is a great start to establish a good base line of health. But so much of our health is within the content of what we utilize it, in the continuum of the human condition of life, environment (acquired as outside environment or internal from stress, poor body mechanics, and just wear and tear) as well as genetics. We all, at some point in time in our lives, experience the decline of the body system; be it, an injury, thereby requiring surgery and rehabilitation, or age, in the form of compensation, compression, genetics, habits and accumulation of repetitive motion, dysfunction, actions ,traumas and toxins. When we treat the body what are we affecting? Is there a model, and is it holistic in it’s approach? Does this model exist within the insurance model? When we treat the body we in essence, should be treating the individual, not just isolating the dysfunction, disease or trauma. After all, these ailments do not, nor should they consist in the total ness of any one being ;it is just the experience they are expressing in their life at the current time. Disease, is as the word is broken down, is really the lack of ease in the body. It is out of balance. When it comes to insurance coverage, it is a model to achieve functionality prior to any onset, outside of what was once normal. I have not seen a model demonstrate the value of direct hands on attention to an individual with the time of equal or great power, than massage therapy. And yet it still comes up short, in regards to reimbursements and acknowledgment of in the medical field. I would like to challenge any person to dispute this fact, and yet no health care professional would consider taking 1 hour to be with their patient and really connect with them, where they see them not just a disease or diagnosis but as an individual. I have heard that it is not cost effective to spent that length of time on each patient. Therein lies part of the problem, yet every practitioner has the right to extend their services and acquire the ability to make a living at their trade. Policies are in place to reach the maximum amount of patients in the most cost effective means, especially when the population and aging health concerns are on the rise. Who reaps these benefits and who pays for these policies? Think about this the next time you cost compare time, experience, cost of doing business and your health. Andrew Wolfe, LMP is a licensed massage practitioner based in Arlington Washington and has 23 years of full time private practice and can be reached 360-653-4657 or http://www.harmonymassagetherapy.com. Check out his face book page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-WolfeLMP-Harmony-Licensed-Massage-Therapy/145287564494