Friday, August 30, 2013

Fee Guideline for Osteopaths in Ontario (Canada)

The College of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners of Ontario (COMPO) has just release its 2013 recommended fee guidelines for osteopathic manual practitioners in Ontario. This is the first time a fee guideline has ever been published in Canada for manual osteopaths. It is a historical achievement. This is a great step in standardizing the profession of manual osteopathy in Ontario and getting it regulated. National Academy of Osteopathy congratulates COMPO on this historic report.


COMPO Fee Guideline (2013)
The College of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners of Ontario (COMPO) Recommended Service Codes and Fee Guideline (“The Fee Guideline”) has been prepared for osteopathic manual practitioners, patients, insurers and third party payers to provide for fair and reasonable billing for osteopathic manual practice services according to a clear and consistent model.

Recommended fees for osteopathic manual practice services are adjusted periodically to reflect changes in the cost of rendering care and in the socio-economic circumstances of the day. The adjustments to the COMPO fee guideline will generally be in line with general inflation in the province of Ontario.



FEES ARE RECOMMENDATIONS

The COMPO Fee Guideline is issued for information purposes only. Adoption of the fees recommended herein remains at the discretion of the osteopathic manual practitioner. Recommended fees represent the full fee for each service, inclusive of any partial or full insurance provisions.

The COMPO recognizes that osteopathic manual practice fees may vary across the province. As with other professional and health care professions a number of factors affect the establishment of a given fee for a given service. These include the cost to provide the osteopathic service, regional and economic factors, and considerations of reasonable and customary practice for patient and osteopathic manual practitioner.

The fee established by an osteopathic manual practitioner for a given service should be charged to all patients who receive that particular service, and should be charged without reference to, for example, the existence of any third-party insurance under which the patient may be covered.

According to Standards established by The College of Osteopathic Manual Practitioners of Ontario, patients must be informed of the cost of service before the service is performed regardless of the payer. Where the osteopathic manual practitioner’s fee is significantly at variance with the recommended fee, it is suggested that the patient and/or payer be informed of the reasons for the variance.


Hourly Fee For All Osteopathic Manual Practice Services:  $80


ASSESSMENT

For a new or established patient, shall comprise a full history of the presenting complaint(s), the review of any relevant documentation, a detailed inquiry concerning the complaint(s) and detailed examination of the affected part(s), region(s) or system(s) as required to: (a) arrive at an osteopathic diagnosis (osteopathic manual practitioners are not permitted to render medical diagnosis); (b) complete an appropriate record of findings; (c) advise the patient on course of treatment; (d) where appropriate, refer the patient for other health care. Time requirement is generally 30-60 minutes.
Assessment Fee:   $80 for one hour, $40 for 30 minutes


TREATMENT
Osteopathic manual practitioners in Ontario provide treatments on a time basis, most commonly 30 minutes to one hour.

The osteopathic therapeutic interventions may be provided at the same day the assessment is performed, or at a subsequent patient visit. Osteopathic manual practitioners may employ many different manual techniques such as joint mobilization, trigger point therapy, myofascial release technique, massage, muscle energy techniques, visceral techniques, cranial osteopathy, joint specific therapeutic exercises, positional release technique, and counterstrain to help patients. Osteopathic manual practitioners in Ontario are not permitted to perform joint manipulation, also known as high velocity low amplitude technique.
Treatment Fee:   $80 for one hour, $40 per 30 minutes  

 

HOME VISIT SUPPLEMENT
Osteopathic manual practitioners who provide treatments at the patient’s home are permitted to add a surcharge to their treatment fees to recover the transportation costs.
Home Visit Surcharge:   $40

 

DETAILED CASE REPORT
There are instances where the osteopathic manual practitioner is requested to provide a detail narrative report, mainly in motor vehicle accident (MVA) cases. The reports are charge on an hourly rate. Most reports take about 3 to 5 hours of work to be prepared, however it depends on each individual case.
Detailed Report Fee:  $80 per hour spent on preparing the report

 

Photocopy
Photocopy of patient files, clinical notes or other materials for patient or a third party.
Photocopy Fee:   $30 for up to 5 pages, $1 per page thereafter

 

Form or Sick Note: Simple Sick Note / Return to Work
Certificate completion requiring minimal input and signature by the osteopathic manual practitioner. Examples of certificates included are disability forms, institutional benefit program applications and handicap parking applications.
Form & Sick Note Fee:   $20


Clinical Products and Materials
Clinical Products (i.e. orthopaedic braces, splints, exercise products) and materials (i.e. educational material) are provided at osteopathic manual practitioners cost plus a reasonable handling charge as well as the time spent by the practitioner to measure patient and to educate patient on proper use.
Measuring & Dispensing Fee:              $40 for 30 minutes or $80 for one hour
 

Custom Made Foot Orthotics
The fee charged for a pair of custom made foot orthotics includes all professional services relating directly to the provision of custom made in-shoe foot orthotics including the assessment & gait analysis, casting, fitting, and follow up assessment as well as the cost of the custom in-shoe orthotics. As the cost of foot orthotics differ from each manufacturer and also on the type and style of prescribed orthotics a range is provided for practitioners.
Orthotics Fee: $250 to $350 per pair (fee includes the cost of assessment as well as the product)





2 comments:

  1. Has the Fee guideline been updated since 2013 or do the recomended fees from 2013 still apply?

    ReplyDelete
  2. yes with 2/100 evry years since 2013...

    ReplyDelete