Member Resources
STANDARD OF PRACTICE:
ADVERTISING
T
oday’s chiropractors are much more likely to advertise online than in
print mediums such as billboards or newspapers. As these mediums
become more common, it is important to ensure that your advertising
meets the requirements of the College of Chiropractors of Ontario’s (CCO)
recently updated Standard of Practice S-016 “Advertising”.
WHAT COUNTS AS
“ADVERTISING” UNDER THIS
STANDARD OF PRACTICE?
CCO has defined advertising as any
message communicated outside a
member’s office through a public
medium, including electronic media
such as websites and social media, that
can be seen or heard by the public at
large with the intent of influencing a
person’s choice of service or service
provider. This standard applies equally to
members acting individually, as a group
or as a professional health corporation.
Chiropractors’ advertising must contain
information that is accurate, factual,
verifiable and readily comprehensible
to the audience to whom the advertising
is directed.
DOES ELECTRONIC MEDIA
COUNT AS “ADVERTISING”
UNDER THIS STANDARD
OF PRACTICE?
In 2017, CCO updated the definition
of advertising contained in S-016 to
apply to electronic media including
24
FALL 2017
websites and social media feeds. This
is an important amendment to S-016,
as chiropractic websites and social
media feeds can have a major impact
on our collective ability to protect
the profession's reputation and how
chiropractic is viewed by the media.
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
AND DISPLAYS
Public presentations and displays are
considered advertising by CCO and
S-016 applies. Policy P-016: Public
Display Protocol is also in force. When
conducting a public presentation or
display, members must:
∞ ∞ Comply with CCO’s Regulations and
Standards of Practice and maintain
professional conduct,
∞ ∞ Distribute only materials that comply
with S-016,
∞ ∞ Perform assessments that are
compliant with CCO’s P-016:
Public Display Protocol and are for
educational purposes only,
∞ ∞ Use no coercive or pressure tactics,
and,
∞ ∞ Perform no controlled acts or
adjustments.
ARE TESTIMONIALS
PERMITTED?
S-016 permits testimonials that refer
only to the benefits of chiropractic.
Testimonials that refer to the benefits
of treatment by a particular member
or office are not permitted except on a
member’s website, in which case they
are permitted if they are:
∞ ∞ Accurate, verifiable, and recorded in
the patient health record;
∞ ∞ Used only in accordance with the
written consent of the patient;
∞ ∞ Not obtained using any undue
pressure, duress, coercion or
incentives; and
∞ ∞ Otherwise compliant and consistent
with Standard of Practice S-016:
Advertising, the chiropractic scope
of practice, other CCO standards of
practice, policies and guidelines, and
privacy legislation.