Many practitioners choose to offer short “meet and greet” or introductory conversations with prospective patients. These can be a helpful way to build rapport, answer general questions, and determine whether your services are a good fit.
If you offer these types of interactions, it’s important to understand how they differ from a clinical appointment and what your professional responsibilities are in each situation.
What is a “meet and greet” appointment?
A “meet and greet” is a brief, informal conversation with a potential patient. Its purpose is typically to:
- get to know one another,
- answer general (non-clinical) questions, and
- provide an overview of your services and approach.
A meet and greet is not a clinical appointment. No assessment, diagnosis, or treatment advice should be provided during this interaction.
Documentation matters – even for brief conversations
Even when an interaction feels informal, you are still engaging in a professional context. Keeping a short, factual record of each meet and greet helps ensure clarity and transparency for both you and the patient.
Your documentation may include:
- the date and time
- whether the interaction was virtual or in person
- who was present
- the purpose of the conversation
- general information shared and questions asked
- confirmation that no assessment or clinical advice was provided
- any concerns raised or observed
- agreed-upon next steps (for example, booking an initial appointment or making a referral)
Clear documentation helps demonstrate the intent and limits of the interaction and can be valuable if questions arise later either for referencing or as part of a complaint process.
Privacy and record-keeping considerations
If you collect or document any information during a meet and greet, you may have obligations under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). These obligations apply even if:
- no practitioner–patient relationship has been established, and
- the interaction does not result in a full patient file
PIPA sets requirements for how personal information is collected, used, stored, retained, and disclosed. These obligations are different from — and generally less extensive than — the record-keeping requirements that apply to patient records created during clinical care.
For this reason, practitioners may choose to keep meet-and-greet documentation separate from formal patient records, provided the interaction truly remains non-clinical and limited in scope.
Be mindful of where the line can blur
In practice, the distinction between a meet and greet and a clinical appointment can become unclear. Prospective patients may:
- voluntarily share detailed health information,
- describe symptoms or diagnoses, or
- ask questions that move toward assessment or treatment advice.
Practitioners also vary in how strictly they maintain the boundaries of a meet and greet. Once an interaction begins to resemble a clinical encounter — particularly where health information is gathered for assessment or clinical decision-making — the documentation may more appropriately form part of a patient record, with all corresponding professional and legal obligations.
When in doubt, registrants are encouraged to retain documentation as part of the patient record. Practitioners should alert prospective patients in advance that notes will be taken and that a record of the meet-and-greet appointment will be kept. Doing so helps ensure compliance with College standards and avoids the risk of under-documenting a clinical interaction.
How an initial appointment is different
An initial appointment is a clinical encounter. During this visit, you may:
- gather a patient’s health history,
- conduct an assessment,
- discuss goals, and
- develop or begin a treatment plan.
Because this is a clinical service, it involves formal documentation, clinical decision-making, and full professional responsibilities under the relevant CCHPBC Bylaws and standards of practice, and record-keeping requirements
