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Regulation & Educational Standards

The practice of manual osteopathy is not recognized as a regulated health profession in Ontario at this time. The process of becoming regulated in Ontario is complex and can take many years. To understand the process of becoming a regulated health profession in Ontario, see the attached PDF (how-health-professions-becom.pdf) for further information. Despite this, there are benchmarks set out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in regards to training in Osteopathy. Countries that have regulated osteopathy focus on meeting these benchmarks set out by the WHO as the educational standard. The private insurance industry aligns with the WHO benchmarks and therefore osteopathic practitioners will only be recognized if they have attended educational institutions that meet these standards. 

Professional Standards

OSTCAN requires its members to: 

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  • Meet the criteria for OSTCAN Education Standards 

  • Hold valid professional malpractice and liability coverage

  • Adhere to the OSTCAN Standards of Practice 

  • Adhere to the Bylaws of the provincial association of which they are a professional member

  • Comply to the laws of the province in which they practice

  • Satisfy the annual Continuing Education requirements of provincial association of which they are a professional member

  • Satisfy all required re-certification of Safety, Ethics & Red Flags training and continuing education

  • Hold a clean Vulnerable Sector Screening Police Check

  • Attend regular Fraud Prevention Education - when mandatory courses are presented 

Standards of Practice

OSTCAN holds its members to the highest standards of practice, arranged into four categories: 

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  1. Communications and Patient Partnerships

  2. Knowledge, Skills and Performance

  3. Safety and Quality in Practice

  4. Professionalism

To read more about the full Standards of Practice: ostcan_standards_of_practice.pdf. 

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