Education Articles
Hope in our future is growing as the parallel economy is growing as well. Let’s look at a few sectors. In the good arena – the growth of natural foods and markets are allowing consumers to have a choice of foods that are locally grown. As the supply chain internationally has been compromised, a multitude of national animal farms have burned within the past year, and millions of chickens in large CAFOs have been put down because of disease, those who wish to bypass much of the commercial system are seeking alternatives. In the investment sector, cryptocurrency has delivered an alternative to the stock market and banks as a haven for investments. Time will tell whether Bitcoin and other cryptos and blockchains will stay independent and offer good returns on investment over time.
Over the past 30 years professionals in the exercise field have been interested in receiving reimbursement dollars for specific types of fitness services. The only bona fide service that started receiving insurance money was cardiac rehab, which in the mid-1980s received reimbursement for up to 35 cardiac visits. This meant that patients who needed exercise could get phase 3 programs for up to 3.5 months post-surgery. No other types of clinical exercise – obesity, hypertension, diabetes management, etc. received reimbursement dollars.
Back in 2018 I was introduced to a program in Scottsdale, AZ called Cerulean Advanced Wellness. This company was not a health club, and it wasn’t a clinic, either. It was a precision wellness center. Cerulean didn’t have exercise equipment.
In 2024 Apple technology company will enter the health insurance market using the strength of their Apple watch data – which has now logged billions of data points for persons who exercise on their own, or in health clubs. This data interfaces with some of the fitness equipment and other types of software programs that are within the health club sector, and the very nature of Apple wanting to get into health insurance begs a huge question – how will this play for the wellness industry?
In most businesses (it should be all businesses), relationships are key to enhancing business models. The old adage that “doing business with people you like” goes a long way to moving forward. In the health club sector, having a good “experience” is about as key to the business as any new equipment, or clean bathrooms, or plenty of parking. The fact that they are a part of the great experience is paramount to clubs.
The use of blood labs within the health club profession is not a new concept. In the 1980s as the interest in high levels of cholesterol was becoming more common, health clubs used the Cholestech machine to take a finger stick of blood – and in three minutes obtain a total cholesterol value.