For Medical Exercise Specialists to be more effective and produce positive outcomes, packaging or bundling MET services to meet the needs of the clients and their conditions is important. Usually MET services are provided in a singular manner. Services such as one-on-one training, group classes and medical membership are offered separately. For effective management of chronic conditions a shift to packaging all MET services necessary to produce a positive outcome is preferred.

These are the 7 steps to packaging MET services:

1. Identify the condition and its MET needs
2. Identify the 6 key exercise points
3. Identify the 6 lifestyle management keys
4. Combine these 3 for 30 days exercise goals
5. Develop six 10-minute lifestyle management PPT’s
6. Develop six 45-minute group exercise sessions
7. Focus on what the client walks away with.

At this point packaging MET services is seldom avaiable to the client as initial offering . But as the demand for MET grows so will the need to offer “...

Medical Exercise Specialists are working with more clients and the numbers are continuing to grow. With the changes in insurance reimbursement, many clients are seeking medical exercise training services but are not quite ready for such. Each client presenting for medical exercise training services must complete a screening to determine if they are ready for MET. The screening process will identify "RED FLAGS".

Red flags indicate the client is NOT "medically-stable" nor ready to begin exercise outside a clinical setting.  "Medically-stable" means the client can tolerate 30 minutes of exercise and symptoms such as pain, swelling, etc have been stabilized. In your screening look for these Red Flags:

1. Radiating Pain
2. Numbness/Tingling
3. Loss of Range of Motion
4. Loss of Function
5. Swelling
6. Night Pain
7. Chest Pain/Shortness of Breath
8. Open Wounds
9. Abnormal Vital Signs

Though exercise may have a positive impact on each of these items, it may also have a significant negative impact. It is...

Medical exercise training is growing and health clubs are trying to cash in. But many health clubs misunderstand the needs of medical professionals and their patients when attempting to develop referral relationships. Over the years as a therapist I have been approached by many clubs to refer clients or be a member of their medical fitness advisory board. Forgive me! I got carried away and gave you 8 instead of 7. The more the better in this situation.

Here are 8 mistakes health clubs make when approaching medical professionals.

1. Selling Memberships
2. Focusing on Fitness Staff Certifications
3. Not Focusing on Packaging MET Programs
4. Dismissing Functional Outcome Measures
5. Not Having a Medical Exercise Training Director
6. Placing Medical Professionals on the Advisory Board
7. Not Selectively Marketing to Medical Professionals
8. Not Having a Fee Schedule for Medical Exercise Training

As a Medical Exercise professional you will work with a wide range of clients when you open your practice. You will clients with neurological disorders (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and CVA), cardiovascular conditions (hypertension, myocardial infarcts, coronary bypasses) and musculoskeletal disorders (total hip and knee replacements, disc herniations and meniscal tears). These are just some of the conditions you will work with in your practice. 

Clients will also seek your services to correct postural and muscular imbalances and/or to improve strength, endurance or flexibility around a joint. With all clients, complete a thorough medical history interview BEFORE initiating any assessment procedures or exercise programming. 

Go to MET101Ebook.com to get your copy.

The majority of clients referred to medical exercise training (MET) are there due to “residual functional deficits”. As we have mentioned in previous blog posts, over the last 25 years the reimbursement for rehabilitation services has diminished. As a result physical therapy patients are discharged earlier. We saw trend starting in the early 1990’s. This prompted us to develop the “Medical Exercise Specialist” certification. Insurance reimbursement for physical therapy is now roughly half of what it was in the 90’s. With patients being discharged earlier, we estimate roughly 80% of those discharged from physical therapy have functional deficits and need a safe and effective exercise program to enhance their level of function at work, at home or with sports. FUNCTION is the driving factor for medical exercise training!

The function wheel above identifies the nine key elements of human function. These elements may be impaired as a result of injury, surgery or with the onset of many me...

MET is designed to augment medical services, particularly rehabilitation services. There are 7 programs every MET program must offer. These 7 programs include:

• 1) Group Training for Total Joint Replacements
• 2) Lifestyle Management Training
• 3) Dynamic Back School
• 4) Weight Management
• 5) Osteoarthritis Training
• 6) Sports Injury Conditioning
• 7) Neuro Training

There are certainly other programs you might offer but these 7 are essential. For more MET practice building tips go to www.MET101ebook.com. 

Do doctors understand the importance of MET and how to use it?

No, physicians will not understand medical exercise training (MET) but don't let this be a deterrent. Most physicians realize exercise is beneficial for their patients but as far as prescribing specifics with exercise, such as activities, frequency, duration and progression, they wont know how. But they aren't trainerd to know exercise. Physicians are trained to diagnose and treat disease. In learning to treat disease, they perform surgery, write prescriptions; read x-rays; and interpret diagnostic tests...exercise prescription is not part of the standard medical school curriculum. 

But their defense - which would you prefer? You go to the emergency room at 2 in the morning with a sick child. Would you want the physician to have the ability to interpret the diagnostic test(s) to determine your child's illness and the best course of treatment or do you want a physician that understands exercise programming? I'm pretty s...

In an earlier blog post we discussed the need to proviide more affordable medical exercise training options. Insurance reimbursment is an area many Medical Exercise Specialists are trying to understand. In this video Dr Mike will review the 5 criteria you must meed before you can begin to look at any possibility of reimbursement from the insurance carrier. The criteria are:

1. Physician's Referral
2. Major Trauma, Surgery or Long-Term Condition
3. Received Maximum Benefit from Physical Therapy, Chiropractic, etc
4. Residual Functional Deficits
5. Not Covered by Medicare, Medicaid or Govt Coverage

If the client meets ALL 5 criteria, then you may begin the process of submitting for reimbursement. In a later article we will discuss the steps needs for reimbursement.