A Regional Analysis of U.S. Insurance Reimbursement Guidelines for Massage Therapy.

Introduction: Massage techniques fall within the scope of many different health care providers. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, and chiropractors receive insurance reimbursement for health care services, including massage. Although many patients pay out of pocket for massage services, it is unclear how the insurance company reimbursement policies factor provider qualifications into coverage.

Integration of Massage Therapy in Outpatient Cancer Care.

Background: Massage therapy can be helpful in alleviating cancer-related symptoms and cancer treatment-related symptoms. While surveys have noted that cancer patients seek out massage as a nonpharmacologic approach during cancer treatment, little is known about the integration of massage in outpatient cancer care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which massage is being integrated into outpatient cancer care at NCI-designated Cancer Centers.

Massage Therapy in Outpatient Cancer Care: A Metropolitan Area Analysis.

Massage offers cancer patients general quality of life benefits as well as alleviation of cancer-related symptoms/cancer-treatment-related symptoms including pain, anxiety, and fatigue. Little is known about whether massage is accessible to cancer patients who receive treatment in the outpatient setting and how massage is incorporated into the overall cancer treatment plan. Outpatient cancer centers (n = 78) in a single metropolitan area were included this mixed-methods project that included a systematic analysis of website information and a telephone survey.

A review of creative and expressive writing as a pedagogical tool in medical education.

Context: The act of writing offers an opportunity to foster self-expression and organisational abilities, along with observation and descriptive skills. These soft skills are relevant to clinical thinking and medical practice. Medical school curricula employ pedagogical approaches suitable for assessing medical and clinical knowledge, but teaching methods for soft skills in critical thinking, listening and verbal expression, which are important in patient communication and engagement, may be less formal.

Interprofessional Integrative Medicine Training for Preventive Medicine Residents.

Integrative medicine training was incorporated into the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Preventive Medicine residency at the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Newark Campus as a collaboration between the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the School of Health Related Professions. Beginning in 2012, an interdisciplinary faculty team organized an Integrative Medicine program in a Preventive Medicine residency that leveraged existing resources across Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. The overarching aim of the programs was to introduce residents and faculty to the scope and practice of integrative medicine in the surrounding Newark community and explore evidence-based research on integrative medicine.

Complementary and alternative medicine in US medical schools.

An analysis of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in US medical school curriculum was undertaken. Websites for 130 US medical schools were systematically analyzed for course listings and content. Half of the schools (50.

Functional fitness improvements after a worksite-based yoga initiative.

This study explored the benefits of yoga on functional fitness, flexibility, and perceived stress. A quasi-experimental design was used to measure benefits of yoga in sample of firefighters from a major metropolitan fire department. Yoga classes were conducted on-shift, in the fire stations over the period of 6 weeks.

The contribution of marching band participation to overall physical activity for a sample of university students.

The aim of this study was to provide insight into the contribution of marching band to overall physical activity. A convenience sample was recruited from the Arizona State University Marching Band. Participants logged their physical activity and step counts for seven days.