![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/untitled.jpg?resize=500%2C321\")
A poor shmuck named Sisyphus<\/p><\/div>\n
Anyway, I made a conscious decision to ration my focus and attention onto the closed group that I moderate for AMT<\/a>. On face value, I acknowledge that this decision sounds incredibly solipsistic and egocentric. The deeper truth, though, is that I had accepted that my heroically misguided attempts at \u201ccorrecting the internet\u201d were exactly that: spectacularly, heroically misguided. The Sisyphus of the modern era is no longer pushing boulders up a mountain \u2013 he\u2019s mythbusting on the intertubes. Yep. I called them intertubes.<\/p>\n Where do I turn?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSo, where do I turn to for reliable information?\u201d I hear you ask. Facebook groups are great for advice around clinical issues \u2013 management of clients, unfamiliar presenting conditions, or even just general encouragement, bolstering and a collegiate sense of community \u2013 though I would still be a little bit circumspect around the sometimes fine line between advice and advertising (for example, there might be continuing education providers perpetually lurking around in groups, pouncing on any promotional opportunity in the guise of something else. Other kinds of tacit sales of goods and services are very common too. Remember: if you\u2019re not paying for the product, you are the product).<\/p>\n But for anything involving what I would call the practice management side of being a massage therapist, social media groups are a really terrible place to find reliable information: if you post a question about health fund provider status and numbers, third party payers generally, receipting, indemnity insurance or employment contracts in a Facebook group, you\u2019re likely to get between 3 and 712 different opinions and, if you\u2019re very, very lucky, one of those opinions will actually be correct. You really should be directing those kinds of questions to your association, not to 2613 colleagues you met on the internet. AMT can provide you with factual information in all of these areas of practice. (I should note at this point that, although AMT cannot give you legal advice on employment contracts, we ~can~ refer and guide you to the support you need. PLEASE don\u2019t go looking for legal advice on social media. Massage therapists are not lawyers so the expectation that they are in any way equipped to provide reliable advice on legal matters is fundamentally insane. If it\u2019s legal advice you need, the only place to get it is from a practising lawyer. The same principle applies with tax issues \u2013 if you have a question, consult an accountant and\/or the ATO, not a fellow massage therapist.)<\/p>\n Case in point: gift vouchers and health fund claiming<\/strong><\/p>\n AMT provides you with loads of resources to help you navigate the arcane domain of health funds and provider numbers and that’s just for starters. Most of the questions therapists have about health funds are answered in AMT\u2019s health fund information booklet<\/a>. (If you haven\u2019t read it, please do it now. If you haven’t read it for a while, please review it now.)<\/p>\n For example, that raging debate you read on Facebook about whether you can issue a health fund receipt on a gift voucher? The answer is a clear and unequivocal no. Here\u2019s what AMT\u2019s health fund booklet says on page 14:<\/p>\n Can gift vouchers\/certificates for massage services be claimed through the health funds?<\/strong><\/p>\n No. Gift vouchers\/certificates are not claimable through the health funds because the person paying for the gift is not receiving the treatment and the person redeeming the gift has not paid for the treatment. The receipt issued must clearly state that it is for a gift voucher\/certificate, not for a treatment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Medibank\/ahm also helpfully clarified its position on gift vouchers to all the associations early this week:<\/p>\n \u201cThere appears to be confusion as to whether a gift card or voucher can be used to claim a benefit from Medibank or ahm. Medibank\/ahm does not pay benefits for services when the services are fully covered by a third party. This applies to gift cards and vouchers. Should you require further information in relation to Medibank rules and policies please refer to our Member Guide<\/a>. Medibank\u2019s Fund Rules and policies are summarised in the Member Guide. The Member Guide details when benefits are not payable.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Time to stop arguing about this issue and move on with more productive dialogue.<\/p>\n Second case in point: those *&%$^ing Medibank educational requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n On the flipside, what about that recent claim you read on Facebook that it was the associations and not Medibank that were responsible for setting the educational requirements that have seen whole cohorts of graduates locked out of provider status? I really hope that this claim was the innocent mistake of a poorly-informed Medibank employee and nothing more sinister because it belies the 15-month David and Goliath legal negotiation that AMT entered into with the market giant, defending the industry\u2019s hard-won competency standards. But that\u2019s a whole epic tale for another blog post. In the meantime, I believe that this particular baby fallacy was quickly extinguished by a few sharp-eyed mythbusters, whose Sisyphean vigilance I am especially grateful for.<\/p>\n The take home message<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t mistake opinion for fact. Social media is generally opinion heavy and fact light. It\u2019s just the nature of the medium. Opinions are useful where the answer to an issue or question may be nuanced (loads of clinical questions are highly nuanced, for example) but if a question requires a factual response, such as how much professional indemnity insurance cover BUPA requires or whether a gift voucher is eligible for health fund rebates, please turn to AMT for reliable information and support.<\/p>\n Bart is right<\/p><\/div>\n Oh, and while I am here, massage therapy is not contraindicated in the first trimester of pregnancy.<\/p>\n Yours sincerely,<\/p>\n Sisyphus<\/p>\n PS the irony of giving advice on the internet about not taking advice on the internet is not lost on me.<\/p>\n Who should we believe? Our colleagues in a Facebook group or our association\/lawyer\/accountant? Rebecca Barnett cuts through the myths and misinformation currently circulating, and recirculating in massage therapy groups on social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,110,2,1],"tags":[172,173,28,34],"class_list":["post-581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amt","category-clinical-practice","category-professional-practice","category-uncategorized","tag-mythbusting-health-funds","tag-sisyphus","tag-amt","tag-rebecca-barnett"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/I-cannot-correct-the-internet.jpg?fit=659%2C353&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3792,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2023\/09\/13\/the-one-where-we-say-goodbye\/","url_meta":{"origin":581,"position":0},"title":"The one where we say goodbye…","author":"admin","date":"13\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In the words of Harry Truman \"it is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit\". After 26 years involvement with AMT, we say goodbye to Rebecca Barnett, appropriately in the Blog that she started back in 2017.","rel":"","context":"In "AMT"","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/thank-you-140227_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C646&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/thank-you-140227_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C646&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/thank-you-140227_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C646&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/thank-you-140227_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C646&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/thank-you-140227_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C646&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1661,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/05\/15\/are-we-there-yet\/","url_meta":{"origin":581,"position":1},"title":"Are we there yet?","author":"admin","date":"15\/05\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"AMT has announced its 2019-2024 Strategic Plan. But what does this mean for AMT members? CEO Rebecca Barnett explains.","rel":"","context":"In "AMT"","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/fireworks-2248223_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/fireworks-2248223_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/fireworks-2248223_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/fireworks-2248223_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/fireworks-2248223_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C658&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2394,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2020\/02\/18\/mythbusting-does-massage-therapy-flush-toxins\/","url_meta":{"origin":581,"position":2},"title":"Mythbusting: Does Massage Therapy Flush Toxins?","author":"admin","date":"18\/02\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog, the latest in our mythbusting series, was a long time in the making. It involved hours of careful research synthesis and an unparalleled attention to detail. We recommend you make a cuppa and settle in for an engaging read.","rel":"","context":"In "Clinical Practice"","block_context":{"text":"Clinical Practice","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/clinical-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"May or may not be an image of Rebecca Barnett. Appears to be a child in pig tails with a surprised or mystified facial expression.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Toxin1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Toxin1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Toxin1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":886,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2018\/06\/26\/10-of-the-best-of-the-amt-blog-so-far\/","url_meta":{"origin":581,"position":3},"title":"10 of the Best of the AMT Blog … so far","author":"admin","date":"26\/06\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Since September 2017, we\u2019ve shared nearly 50 stories on this blog. We\u2019ve hand-picked 10 of our favourites that are worth a re-read. Sadly there was not enough room for a re-telling of the History of the Underpant. Perhaps next time.","rel":"","context":"In "AMT"","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Top-10.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Top-10.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Top-10.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1512,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/03\/21\/modality-jiggery-pokery\/","url_meta":{"origin":581,"position":4},"title":"Modality Jiggery Pokery*","author":"admin","date":"21\/03\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"AMT recently had some dialogue with Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt regarding the April 1 changes to private health insurance rules. 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Rebecca Barnett attempts to set the record straight and articulates AMT's formal position on the new qualification.","rel":"","context":"In "AMT"","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Change.jpg?fit=960%2C611&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Change.jpg?fit=960%2C611&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Change.jpg?fit=960%2C611&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Change.jpg?fit=960%2C611&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":595,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581\/revisions\/595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/trimester-300x161.jpg?resize=400%2C215\")
About the Author<\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Beck-selfie-copy-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\")
As Secretary of AMT, Rebecca Barnett has been at the coalface of professional advocacy for 12 years. Her proudest achievements include the release of the AMT Code of Practice<\/a> in 2013 and the establishment of AMT\u2019s classified massage therapy research database<\/a>. She\u2019s still not sure whether to be proud of, or horrified by, those nine stressful months of negotiation with Medibank Private back in 2014. The resulting baby was one that only a private health insurer could love.\u00a0She is devoted to neologism and foodstuffs with the same specific gravity as havarti cheese but she is ambivalent about semi-colons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"