All About Our Updated Standards

The College is in the midst of reviewing and updating our standards. In August, we marked an important milestone as the first group of four new standards came into effect.

For this month’s blog post, we wanted to give you a big picture look at the process.

We’ll talk about the importance of standards, why we’re updating them and what you can expect next.

What Are Standards?

One of the College’s roles is to establish standards and rules for physiotherapists’ practice and conduct.

These standards provide guidance and minimum expectations when it comes to things like record keeping, professional boundaries, working with physiotherapist assistants and more.

Standards are developed by physiotherapists for physiotherapists. They reflect how the profession feels its members ought to practice.

For the public, standards build confidence. They let patients know what to expect from their physiotherapist.

It’s the responsibility of all registered physiotherapists to be familiar with the standards. If you fall short of a standard, you could be subject to professional conduct proceedings.

Why Are We Updating the Standards?

Physiotherapy is an evolving profession. Our standards must reflect that.

By regularly reviewing and updating our standards, we can identify gaps and respond to changes in physiotherapy practice and public expectations.

Recently, physiotherapy regulators across the country worked together to develop a set of national standards which, with some province-specific modifications, can be used as a model across Canada.

The goal is to keep the expectations for Canadian physiotherapists as consistent as possible.

Around 1,000 Ontario physiotherapists were involved in consultations for the National Standards of Practice for Canadian Physiotherapists, which were released in 2023.

Of these standards, the College has identified 16 that will be adopted for Ontario.

Additionally, once the process of adopting the national standards is complete, we’ll be developing two more standards to support Ontario physiotherapists in the delivery of safe, welcoming and equitable care:

• Health Equity and Anti-Discrimination Standard
• Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility Standard

The Controlled Acts and Restricted Activity Standard – which has no national equivalent – will also be reviewed and, if needed, updated.

What’s the Process to Update the Standards?

The 16 national standards that will be adopted in Ontario have been split into five groups, so they can be rolled out in a phased approach.

Each group is presented to the Board and approved for consultation. Consultations are open for 60 days.

In addition to inviting comments from physiotherapists, the College reaches out directly to partners in the physiotherapy community. We also consult with the Citizen Advisory Group to get the public perspective.

After gathering feedback, College staff present a draft version of each standard to the Board for approval. If the Board votes to adopt a standard, it goes into effect 30 days later.

The first group of standards to make it through this process went into effect on August 1, 2024:

• Assessment, Diagnosis, Treatment Standard
• Communication Standard 
• Duty of Care Standard (this replaced the Providing and Refusing Care Standard, which was rescinded) 
• Risk Management and Safety Standard 

If everything goes as planned, the fifth and final group of national standards will go to the Board for approval in June of 2025.

After that, we’ll get to work on the Health Equity and Anti-Discrimination Standard, the Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility Standard, and the Controlled Acts and Restricted Activity Standard, as mentioned above.

Get Involved

We greatly appreciate the many physiotherapists who have taken time out of their busy schedules to provide feedback in consultations on these standards.

More consultations will open soon, as part of our phased approach.

Remember, your feedback is important. Your input will shape how these standards are developed and ultimately, what the expectations for Ontario physiotherapists look like in the future.