COMPO Code of Ethics
The College of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners of Ontario Code of Ethics is based upon the acknowledgement that the social contract dictates the profession’s responsibilities to the patient, and the public; and upholds the fundamental principle that the paramount purpose of the osteopathic manual practitioner's professional services shall be to benefit the patient.
1. In the province of Ontario and any other jurisdiction where it is contrary to the applicable laws osteopathic manual practitioners should refrain from rendering a medical diagnosis as it is a controlled act and outside their scope of practice unless they have a license in a health profession that permits them to offer medical diagnosis. Osteopathic manual practitioners are permitted to render an osteopathic diagnosis.
2. In the province of Ontario and any other jurisdiction where it is contrary to the applicable laws osteopathic manual practitioners should refrain from performing high velocity low amplitude (HVLA) techniques as it is a controlled act and outside their scope of practice unless they have a license which permits them to perform joint manipulation.
3. In the province of Ontario and any other jurisdiction where it is contrary to the applicable laws osteopathic manual practitioners should refrain from taking x-rays as it is a controlled act and outside their scope of practice unless they have a license that permits them to do so.
4. In the province of Ontario and any other jurisdiction where it is contrary to the applicable laws osteopathic manual practitioners should refrain from performing any osteopathic manual therapy (OMT) techniques that requires putting a finger in anus or vagina as putting a finger inside these cavities is a controlled act and outside their scope of practice unless they have a license which permits them to do so.
5. Osteopathic manual practitioners should adhere to a commitment to the highest standards of excellence and should attend to their patients in accordance with established best practices.
6. Osteopathic manual practitioners should maintain the highest standards of professional and personal conduct, and should comply with all governmental jurisdictional rules and regulations.
7. Practitioner-patient relationships should be built on mutual respect, trust and cooperation. In keeping with these principles, osteopathic manual practitioners shall demonstrate absolute honesty with regard to the patient’s condition when communicating with the patient and/or representatives of the patient. Osteopathic manual practitioners shall not mislead patients into false or unjustified expectations of favourable results of treatment. In communications with a patient and/or representatives of a patient, osteopathic manual practitioners should never misrepresent their education, credentials, professional qualification or scope of clinical ability.
8. Osteopathic manual practitioners should preserve and protect the patient's confidential information, except as the patient directs or consents, or the law requires otherwise.
9. Osteopathic manual practitioners should employ their best good faith efforts to provide information and facilitate understanding to enable the patient to make an informed choice in regard to proposed treatment. The patient should make his or her own determination on such treatment.
10. The practitioner-patient relationship requires the osteopathic manual practitioners to exercise utmost care that he or she will do nothing to exploit the trust and dependency of the patient. Sexual misconduct is a form of behaviour that adversely affects the public welfare and harms patients individually and collectively. Sexual misconduct exploits the practitioner-patient relationship and is a violation of the public trust.
11. Osteopathic manual practitioners should willingly consult and seek the talents of other health care professionals, such as physicians when such consultation would benefit their patients or when their patients express a desire for such consultation.
12. Osteopathic manual practitioners should never neglect nor abandon a patient. Due notice should be afforded to the patient and/or representatives of the patient when care will be withdrawn so that appropriate alternatives for continuity of care may be arranged.
13. With the exception of emergencies, Osteopathic manual practitioners are free to choose the patients they will serve, just as patients are free to choose who will provide healthcare services for them. However, decisions as to who will be served should not be based on race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, creed, gender, handicap or sexual preference.
14. Osteopathic manual practitioners should conduct themselves as members of a learned profession and as members of the greater healthcare community dedicated to the promotion of health, the prevention of illness and the alleviation of suffering. As such, Osteopathic manual practitioners should collaborate and cooperate with other health care professionals to protect and enhance the health of the public with the goals of reducing morbidity, increasing functional capacity, increasing the longevity of the population and reducing health care costs.
15. Osteopathic manual practitioners should exercise utmost care that advertising is truthful and accurate in representing their professional qualifications and degree of competence. Advertising should not exploit the vulnerability of patients, should not be misleading and should conform to all governmental jurisdictional rules and regulations in connection with professional advertising.
16. Osteopathic manual practitioners shall protect the public and the profession by reporting incidents of unprofessional, illegal, incompetent and unethical acts to appropriate authorities and organizations and should stand ready to testify in courts of law and in administrative hearings.
17. Osteopathic manual practitioners have an obligation to the profession of manual osteopathy to endeavour to assure that their behaviour does not give the appearance of professional impropriety. Any actions which may benefit the practitioner to the detriment of the manual osteopathy profession must be avoided so as to not erode the public trust.
18. Osteopathic manual practitioners should recognize their obligation to help others acquire knowledge and skill in the practice of the manual osteopathy profession. They should maintain the highest standards of education and training in the accurate and full dissemination of information and ideas.
19. In the province of Ontario (Canada) and any other jurisdiction where it is contrary to the applicable laws osteopathic manual practitioners should refrain from referring to themselves as osteopaths. In Ontario the term osteopath is reserved for American trained osteopathic physicians who are registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) as doctors of osteopathy (DO) and for all legal purposes are considered medical doctors in Ontario.