Testing Discussion Board

The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO) is updating its guidance around how Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs) collect Personal Health Information (PHI) from clients. RMTs must collect personal health information from clients to ensure they provide safe and effective care. In Ontario, RMTs must also comply with the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) which requires health professionals to “not collect, use or disclose more personal health information than is reasonably necessary to meet the purpose of the collection, use or disclosure”. This means that RMTs must be careful not to collect information that is not necessary or relevant to the Massage Therapy treatment being provided. For example, asking a client about their HIV status or mental health history is viewed as requesting sensitive health information which can potentially lead to stigmatization and discrimination.

CMTO has drafted new Health History Guidance to make sure RMTs have the tools and information needed to protect clients’ privacy and dignity while providing safe and effective treatment during Massage Therapy. CMTO is seeking your feedback on the draft Health History Guidance before it can be used by the profession.

Developing the Draft Health History Guidance

To prepare the updated Health History Guidance, CMTO consulted with RMTs, Massage Therapy educators, health system partners, and health regulators in Ontario and other provinces across Canada. The development process also included an extensive review of evidence-based resources, including academic texts and Massage Therapy research.

About the Draft Health History Guidance

• While CMTO’s previous guidance was about collecting health history by providing a health history form for RMTs to use in practice, the updated guidance follows an outcome-based approach that will inform RMTs of:
  • Personal Health Information that cannot be asked for;
  • Personal Health Information that can only be asked for in certain circumstances; and
  • Personal Health Information that every client can be asked for.
• This type of guidance will provide RMTs with all the information they need to safely and correctly gather PHI from clients but allow them to gather it through the approach they prefer (e.g. verbally, in writing, electronically, or through a combination), while still ensuring proper documentation and confidentiality.
• Rather than just stating what an RMT can and cannot ask – the guidance explains why that is the case, so RMTs can pass that information on to clients if they are curious, and help RMTs better understand when it is appropriate to ask certain questions

You are invited to provide feedback via the survey for the Health History Guidance. You may also join the discussion by submitting your comments on our new discussion board below. The deadline to submit your feedback is September 13, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact us at feedback@cmto.com.

Review the Draft Health History Guidance

Take the Survey

Discussion Board – Draft Health History Guidance

Join the discussion by sharing your thoughts below. If you choose to post a comment below, please note that comments are reviewed by CMTO before posting. CMTO will not post comments that are:

• Abusive, rude, harassing/threatening or otherwise inappropriate.
• Unrelated to the policy or issue under consultation.

All fields below are optional, and the only information that is posted publicly about you is the respondent type (e.g., “RMT”, “Student”, etc.). Your comments will be kept completely anonymous.