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Ethics

The purpose of this group is to network and discuss ethics and massage therapy.

Members: 105
Latest Activity: Aug 7, 2020

Discussion Forum

Ethics Video - Ariana Institute - Check it out...

Started by Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, BCTMB Mar 18, 2013.

When Clients Become Inappropriate 3 Replies

Started by erica ragusa. Last reply by erica ragusa Nov 30, 2011.

Sexual harrassment in an online Yahoo "Review" 6 Replies

Started by Nancy Wilde. Last reply by Nancy Wilde Jan 31, 2011.

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Comment by Shirley Knapp on March 20, 2014 at 9:39am

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Comment by Shirley Knapp on July 9, 2012 at 9:53am


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Comment by Eve Demey on November 5, 2010 at 3:40pm
Nancy, Thank you.Those a great sugestions
Comment by Rachel Sheard, LMT, NCTMB, CIPI on November 5, 2010 at 1:46pm
Thank you Nancy. I appreciate this groups' help. I don't regularly run into clients that cancel so much, and despite having a (signed) cancellation policy, I wasn't sure how best to handle this. I'm usually lenient with health/medical types of cancellations, and maybe let one non-emergency-cancellation slide, but she's given me all sorts of reasons, I was a little dumbfounded. She has an appointment on Monday already scheduled, and whether or not it holds, we'll be having ourselves a nice little chat.
Comment by lee kalpin on November 5, 2010 at 9:12am
Thank you Nancy! These are great suggestions and show all of us that these situations can indeed be handled with great tact and respect for both the client and ourselves.
Comment by Nancy Wilde on November 5, 2010 at 9:05am
Hi Rachel. This kind of discussion with clients is always difficult particularly with needy clients. It is important to respect the client as well as establish reasonable policies for yourself. Here are some suggestions: Initiate a phone call specifically to talk about the cancelled apointments rather than wait until she either calls to schedule or shows up again. Start by expressing your concerns about the client. For instance that her injuries from the MVA need massage treatment based on a certain protocol for best results ( 2X per week.) Secondly you are concerned that she has some other health/personal issues that are preventing her from getting needed care (ovarian cyst, transportation issues, other health issues.) If you have a written cancellation policy - it is best practice to have each client sign a written cancellation agreement annually - go over it with her briefly. Explain that you have had loss of income due to her repeated cancellations and there is a balance due. Then you can ask her how she wants to proceed. Let her suggest ways to solve her problems with keeping her appointments. If she can't make a committment to be responsible for missed appointments, you may find that she is not the client for you. One possible suggestion is to offer that you can't tie up an appointment slot for her, but you will call her if you have last minute cancellations or openings to fill. That way you will not be abandoning her, nor losing income from late cancellations. Best of luck.
Comment by lee kalpin on November 4, 2010 at 4:54pm
LOL - yes, the tact is the hard part! But if you think it through in advance and have something planned it will be easier. The fact is, that if a client doesn't respect your professional time, this may be a client who is not worth having. So if she is offended and decides to cancel out completely, it may be that she is not a great loss to your practice.
And good for you, to look at the positive side. Hope you have a good acupuncture treatment.
Comment by Rachel Sheard, LMT, NCTMB, CIPI on November 4, 2010 at 3:55pm
BTW, the good news for her cancelling today, is that I'm able to go do a trade with the acupuncturist that just moved her business across the street from me. Woohoo!
Comment by Rachel Sheard, LMT, NCTMB, CIPI on November 4, 2010 at 3:49pm
Thanks Lee. I get what you mean about clarifying it with her that the insurance doesn't pay whether she comes in or not. I know I haven't done that yet.

I guess I'm always reluctant to be tough with my clients, because the TACT is the part I have a hard time with! ;)
Comment by lee kalpin on November 4, 2010 at 3:28pm
Rachel, I wasn't implying that YOU would bill the insurance company for the missed appointments, but the client may actually think this is what's happening, and that may be part of the reason why she is casual about keeping her appointments. Many people think that insurance companies have lots of money and can just pay and pay. Probably a tactful (and tough) way of explaining it to the client is to tell her that if she is really committed to making a good recovery from her injuries, she needs to commit to keeping her appointments. The insurance company will not pay for missed appointments, and you cannot keep making appointments for her if she doesn't keep them. I always point out to clients that someone else would have appreciated having that appointment time! And tell her that if she misses any further appointments you will have to charge her for them as you set out in your cancellation policy.
Yup, you do have to toughen up. Your professional time is valuable and should not be abused.
 

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