Standard 1 - Business Practices
Standard 1 - Business Practices
Respiratory Therapists (RTs) must only engage in business practices that are transparent, ethical, and not misleading to the public.
Performance Requirements
Advertising and Marketing
RTs:
- Only use marketing strategies that ensure the dignity and integrity of the profession are upheld.
- Advertise accurately and truthfully to provide a clear, factual, and verifiable representation of the products and services offered.
- Advertise only those products and services that they have the competence to provide.
- Must not include testimonials in their advertising.
- Use advertising that:
- is not false or misleading,
- does not claim their products and services to be superior to that of others and
- is easy for the patient/client to understand.
- Refrain from either directly or indirectly soliciting patients/clients through mechanisms such as personal contact, email, or other forms of communication in an attempt to further their own business interests.
- Must not solicit their employers' clients and must adhere to their employment contract when leaving their place of employment.
Fees and Billing
RTs:
- Prior to the initiation of care, clearly and accurately inform patients/clients of all required fees for products and services, ensuring that there are no hidden costs.
- Must ensure that fee schedules clearly describe billing procedures, reasonable penalties for missed and canceled appointments or late payment of fees, the use of collection agencies or legal proceedings to collect unpaid fees, and third-party fee payments.
- Issue patients/clients a complete billing record of the products and services purchased in a timely fashion.
- Support the establishment of processes to address fee discrepancies/errors in a timely manner.
- Retain accurate financial records related to sales of products and services.
- Must not offer discounts that may diminish the value of RT service offered by the profession
- Must refrain from discontinuing, without reasonable cause, professional services that are needed unless the patient or client is unwilling or unable to pay and reasonable attempts have been made to arrange alternative services.
- May only charge block fees if first:
i. the patient/client is given the option of paying for each service as it is provided;
ii. a unit cost per service is specified; and
iii. the member agrees to refund the patient or client the unspent portion of the block fee.
- Must refrain from charging a fee or accepting payment from a patient/client for services which have been paid for by the Ministry of Health and/or any other agency.
Patient/Client Expected Outcome
Patients/clients can expect that business practices comply with relevant legislation and that the products, services, and care provided by RTs adhere to business practices that are ethical, accurate, truthful, and not misleading.
Related Standards
- Communication
- Conflict of Interest
- Documentation & Information Management
- Professional Responsibilities
- Evidence-Informed Practice
Related Resources
- Nova Scotia Regulator of Respiratory Therapy. (2015). Code of Ethical and Professional Conduct. Available at: https://nsrrt.ca/professional-practice/code-of-ethics
- College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario. (2022). Conflict of Interest. Clinical Practice Guideline. Available at: https://conflict.crto.on.ca/
Glossary
Business practices refer to “the methods, procedures, processes, or rules used by a company or individual RT to conduct its business activities”. It can include, but is not limited to, activities such as advertising, fees, and billing procedures".[1]
Competence refers to refers to “the ability to consistently and effectively apply the requisite knowledge, skills, clinical judgment, and professional behaviour to provide safe, ethical, and effective patient care".[2]
Patient/client refers to “individual, group, community or population who is the recipient of respiratory therapy services and, where the context requires, includes a substitute decision-maker for the recipient of respiratory therapy services”.[3]
Timely refers to actions, interventions, or responses that are carried out within an appropriate or necessary timeframe to achieve the best possible health outcome”.4
1 Open AI. (2025). ChatGPT (May 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com
[2] Open AI. (2025). ChatGPT (May 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com
[3] Nova Scotia Government. Regulated Health Professions Act (2023). Available at: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/regulated%20health%20professions.pdf