RE: Complementary medicine

August 31, 2004

Bob,

Funny, as I just discussed this with the CEO of our hospital this am. We are

planning to employ a massage therapist as a nursing aide and have her provide

massages as a non-reimbursed service to improve satisfaction. We want to market

this by " word of mouth " with people in this community. I expect this to be

extremely positive. As far as providing this in our therapy practice, it is

non-reimbursable as well and I do not plan to utilize her here.

Matt Dvorak, PT

Yankton, SD

________________________________

From: Perlson, Bob

Sent: Fri 8/27/2004 4:04 PM

To: PTManager

Subject: Complementary medicine

I am interested in hearing from any hospital-based practices that are providing

alternative therapies such as massage and acupuncture. Please contact me

directly by email, I'm interested in your experiences and approach.

Bob Perlson

Director, Rehabilitation Services

Asante Health System

781 Black Oak Drive, Suite 101

Medford OR 97504

(1-4291)

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Thank you. Asante® Health System

September 1, 2004

The key is that it's often non-reimbursable. And that is a GOOD thing. It

means cash---unencumbered dollars!---plus, since the customer is paying for

it himself, there will be a clear link between your success and the quality

and efficacy of your service. That is a VERY good thing.

The potential problems with hospitals providing such services though, are

many. You will likely find resistance from physicians, and perhaps distrust

from a public who correctly view you as a traditional (entrenched

traditional?) provider. Perhaps the biggest challenge will be to keep the

service cheap. Hospital programs tend to drag along their huge overhead

(much third-party and regulatory based), causing their costs to skyrocket.

Cash businesses must be competitively priced!

Dave Milano, Director of Rehab Services

S+SMH

32-36 Central Ave.

Wellsboro, PA 16901

dmilano@...

Complementary medicine

I am interested in hearing from any hospital-based practices that are

providing alternative therapies such as massage and acupuncture. Please

contact me directly by email, I'm interested in your experiences and

approach.

Bob Perlson

Director, Rehabilitation Services

Asante Health System

781 Black Oak Drive, Suite 101

Medford OR 97504

(1-4291)

NOTE: The information contained in this message may be privileged and

confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is

not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for

delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified

that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is

strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error,

please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from

your computer.

E-mail has the potential to have been altered or corrupted due to

transmission or conversion. It may not be appropriate to rely upon this

E-mail in the same manner as hardcopy materials bearing the author's

original signature or seal. Thank you. Asante® Health System

September 1, 2004

Matt,

Thank you for that info. We do think we can make this a small business line by

keeping it as a private pay arrangement outside of our medical billing system.

I'll stay in touch to compare notes down the road.