Our Role & Responsibility to the Public
The College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC helps to protect the public through effective regulation of chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists. We maintain Licence Verification of the health professions registered to practice in B.C. We receive, administer and investigate complaints made by the public against registrants, and determine any accountability and consequences.
Processes Managed by the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC
LicenCe Verification
You can use the licence verification search to verify whether an individual is currently registered/licensed with the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC. The search provides information on credentials and scope of practice. This information is not to be used for any commercial, marketing, or fundraising purposes.
Formal Complaints & Discipline
Are you concerned about the care you or a family member received from a registrant of the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC? You can raise such issues through our complaints process.
Professional Conduct Notices & Discipline Hearings
As required by the Health Professions Act, the College provides notice of complaint outcomes. Hearings of the College are open to the public except where, upon application by one of the parties involved, it is determined that the proceedings should be closed.
Complaints & Discipline
College’s role in complaints
The Inquiry Committee of the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC) investigates complaints that have not been resolved by the College’s registrar. The Inquiry Committee is established under the Health Professions Act and is made up of members of the public and health professionals who are registrants of the CCHPBC.
The Committee is responsible for investigating complaints involving any of the following issues:
- a registrant contravening the HPA, the regulation for the registrant’s health profession, or the College’s bylaws
- a registrant failing to comply with a limit or condition imposed under the HPA, the regulation for the registrant’s health profession, or the bylaws
- a registrant’s professional misconduct, sexual misconduct, or unethical conduct
- a registrant’s competence to practise their profession that the CCHPBC regulates
- a physical or mental ailment, an emotional disturbance, or an addiction to alcohol or drugs that impairs a registrant’s ability to practise.
The nature of the Inquiry Committee’s investigation will depend on the complaint. Generally, an investigator will interview the registrant, the complainant and any relevant witnesses. The investigator may ask for additional information or documents from the complainant. Typically, the investigator will obtain client health records from the registrant.
Professional Conduct & Misconduct
What is professional conduct/misconduct?
It is each registrant’s responsibility to practice their profession in accordance with the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC’s bylaws and standards of practice .
Health professionals must recognize that in any client relationship — no matter who the client is —an imbalance of power exists. By the very nature of the relationship, the health professional holds more power than the client because the client relies on the health professional for care. Ways to lessen that power imbalance exist, such as by using a client-centred care model, but there will always be some imbalance inherent in any healthcare encounter.
What is sexual misconduct?
Sexual misconduct includes:
- sexual intercourse or other forms of physical sexual relations between the registrant and the client
- touching, of a sexual nature, of the client by the registrant
- behaviour or remarks of a sexual nature by the registrant toward the client.
Zero tolerance of sexual misconduct by a registrant
Professional misconduct of a sexual nature is a misuse of power that violates the human dignity of clients seeking care for themselves or their relatives, or both. It is characterized as a violation of the relationship of trust and confidence that exists between clients and registrants. Such professional misconduct by any registrant, providing any type of care, in any practice setting, will not be tolerated by the College.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of complaints will be accepted?
The College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC) can only investigate complaints that fall within its statutory mandate. The College’s primary purpose is to protect the public from harm. For a complaint to be accepted for investigation, it must relate to unprofessional conduct or incompetent practice by a registrant of CCHPBC (an acupuncturist, chiropractor, massage therapist, naturopathic physician or traditional Chinese medicine practitioner). Such conduct may include sexual misconduct or unethical conduct.
The College is unable to address claims for financial compensation or business disputes between health professionals.
Can I make an anonymous complaint?
No, the College cannot accept anonymous complaints. A copy of your complaint and evidence gathered through the course of the College’s investigation will be provided to the registrant whom you made the complaint against.
Complaints Review Process
When you submit a complaint to the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC) about a registrant’s conduct, it triggers a statutory process that provides them with procedural rights. Typically, the Inquiry Committee will disclose information about the complaint to the registrant during an investigation, including providing them with a copy of the complaint, as the registrant is generally entitled to receive the complaint so they have an opportunity to respond.
As a complainant, you should also be aware that as part of any investigation:
- information you provide to the College in connection with your complaint, including correspondence, documents and notes made by College staff about telephone calls that you make to the College, may be disclosed to the respondent
- information provided by you may be disclosed to other witnesses when this is considered necessary for the investigation of your complaint
- the registrant may be asked to respond to your complaint
- you may be required to provide further information relating to your complaint
- the College’s registrar or the Inquiry Committee may obtain copies of records relating to your complaint
- an investigator may contact anyone who may have additional information as part of the investigation.
The Inquiry Committee will keep the information it gathers confidential, except when it must disclose information as part of its investigation.
As a complainant, CCHPBC will provide you with regular updates about the status of the investigation. Once the Inquiry Committee decides on a course of action concerning the complaint, the College will provide you and the registrant with notice of its resolution (disposition).
Options for resolving your complaint
The Inquiry Committee has four options for disposing of (resolving) complaints. The Inquiry Committee may:
- Take no further action if the registrant’s conduct or competence was satisfactory, or if the information provided does not make a reasonable case for further action by the College.
- Act informally to resolve the matter between you and the registrant, by taking any action the Inquiry Committee considers appropriate.
- Reach a voluntary formal undertaking and consent agreement with the registrant. Measures that may be required under a formal undertaking and consent agreement include: reprimands, specified educational courses, limits/conditions on practice, or suspensions.
- Direct a discipline hearing before the College’s Discipline Committee. A discipline hearing is a public process in which witnesses give testimony and evidence is submitted. Outcomes from a discipline hearing can range from a dismissal of the allegations to suspension or cancellation of registration.
If the Inquiry Committee disposes of your complaint but does not direct a discipline hearing, it will provide you with notice of its decision and a written explanation. If you are not satisfied with the Committee’s decision, you have the right to apply for a review by the Health Professions Review Board (HPRB). If you wish to apply for a review, you must make an application to the HRPB within 30 days of receiving the Inquiry Committee’s decision letter. If the Inquiry Committee directs a discipline hearing, you will be notified, but may not apply for a review with the HPRB.
Discipline hearings
If the Inquiry Committee decides on a discipline hearing, it will direct the College’s registrar to issue a citation. The matter is then transferred to the Discipline Committee. This option is typically reserved for serious matters where the Inquiry Committee has been unable to obtain a consensual resolution.
Discipline hearings are formal adjudicative processes before Discipline Committee panels, which consist of members of the public and health professionals who are registrants of CCHPBC. If a hearing is set, as the complainant you may have to testify about the matters in the complaint.
CCHPBC may be awarded costs by the Discipline Committee. However, the committee does not have the authority to order a registrant to pay damages or financial compensation or to compel an apology.
Discipline hearings are open to the public.
Length Of Process
The Inquiry Committee must resolve complaints within timelines set under the Health Professions Act (HPA), which permits the Committee a maximum of 255 days (approximately nine months) to resolve a complaint.
UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE AND UNAUTHORIZED USE OF RESERVED TITLES
UnAUTHORIZED practice
The College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC) takes the unauthorized practice of the professions we regulate seriously.
British Columbia has a shared scope of practice and restricted activities model for regulated health professions under the Health Professions Act. This regulatory model was designed to enable inter-professional practice and team-based care, and to balance public safety and consumer choice. For more information on this regulatory model, please visit the website of the B.C. Ministry of Health at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/professional-regulation/scope-of-practice-reform
Restricted activities are a narrowly defined list of invasive, higher risk activities that must not be performed by any person in the course of providing health services, except the regulated health professionals who have been granted specific authority to do so by regulations enacted under the Health Professions Act.
A person engages in unauthorized practice when they engage in a restricted activity without being registered as the type of health professional who has been granted authority to provide that restricted activity as part of their services.
The restricted activities granted to registrants of profession regulated by CCHPBC are as follows.
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy is not a restricted activity in British Columbia. This means that any person may provide massage services, no matter their level of education. Health professionals who are registered with CCHPBC as Registered Massage Therapists are health professionals who have met rigorous registration requirements, including post-secondary education in sciences and in clinical applications of massage therapy. They have also passed a multi-component registration (entry to practice) examination administered by the College and undergone a criminal record check. This is not necessarily the case for non-registered individuals performing massage services.
Chiropractic
The Chiropractic Regulation, as set out under the Health Professions Act,
permits registered Chiropractors to perform a number of restricted activities. The full list of restricted activities for chiropractic can be found at section 4 of the Chiropractic Regulation.
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture
Under the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists Regulation, only specific groups of registrants in the traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture profession may make a traditional Chinese diagnosis, may prescribe Chinese herbal formulae, and may insert acupuncture needles under the skin for the purpose of practising acupuncture, based on their registration title.
The full list of restricted activities for Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists can be found at section 5 of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists Regulation.
Naturopathic Medicine
The Naturopathic Physician Regulation, as set out under the Health Professions Act, permits naturopathic doctors to perform a number of restricted activities. The complete list of restricted activities that naturopathic doctors are authorized to perform can be found at section 5 of the Naturopathic Physicians Regulation.
Unauthorized use of a reserved title
CCHPBC also take the unauthorized use of a title reserved by law for health professionals we regulate seriously. Reserved titles are a central and critical public protection element of British Columbia’s health professions regulatory framework. For more information about reserved titles in British Columbia, please visit the website of the B.C. Ministry of Health at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/practitioner-professional-resources/professional-regulation/scope-of-practice-reform
Use of a title reserved by law for acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, or traditional Chinese medicine practitioners without current CCHPBC registration in the appropriate class of registration is unlawful.
The following titles are reserved for CCHPBC registrants in the massage therapy profession:
- Massage Therapist (MT)
- Registered Massage Therapist (RMT)
- Massage Practitioner (MP)
- Registered Massage Practitioner (RMP)
The following titles are reserved for CCHPBC registrants in the chiropractic profession:
- Chiropractor
- Doctor
The following titles are reserved for CCHPBC registrants in the traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture profession:
- Acupuncturist (R.Ac.)
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (R.TCM.P.)
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbalist (R.TCM.H.)
- Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Dr. TCM)
- Doctor
Please note that while these titles are reserved for the traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture profession, registrants must only use the title(s) that is/are approved to use for the scope of the profession that they are authorized to perform.
The following titles are reserved for CCHPBC registrants in the naturopathic medicine profession:
- Naturopath
- Naturopathic Physician
- Naturopathic Doctor (ND)
- Physician
- Doctor (Dr.)
Unregistered individuals are legally prohibited from using these titles or their abbreviations. (Some individuals who are registrants of a health profession regulated by another regulatory health professional college are also granted legal authority to use some of these titles, such as “doctor”.)
REPORTING UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE AND/OR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF A RESERVED TITLE
If you are concerned that an individual may be engaging in unauthorized practice and/or unauthorized use of a reserved title, check to confirm if they are a registrant of the College by using our Licence Verification tool.
Individuals who engage in unauthorized practice and/or unauthorized use of a reserved title may be subject to legal action.
Because this type of report concerns individuals who are not registrants of the College, CCHPBC is generally able to accept anonymous reports of unauthorized practice and/or reserved title use.
For more information, please contact ac.cbphcc@stnialpmoc.
How to make a complaint against a registrant
What to know: Making a complaint
If you have a concern about the conduct or competence of a registrant of the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC) (an acupuncturist, chiropractor, massage therapist, naturopathic physician or traditional Chinese medicine practitioner), you may submit a complaint to the College.
Complaints must be made in writing. You may submit a complaint through the following options:
- Use the secure complaint form
- Email: ac.cbphcc@stnialpmoc
- Mail a letter to:
Director of Inquiry and Discipline
College of Complementary Health Professionals of British Columbia
900-200 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 1S4 - Fax : 604-608-9726
You must provide your full name when submitting a complaint; CCHPBC is not able to accept anonymous complaints or complaints made by phone.
There is no time limit on submitting a complaint.
For more information about the CCHPBC’s complaints process, review the section on the College’s role in complaints above.
Public Notices
Under the Health Professions Act, CCHPBC provides notice of complaint outcomes as required by the Act. CCHPBC provides notice of outcomes that result in conditions or limits on a registrant’s practice, a suspension, or cancellation of licence, as well as matters that go to the Discipline Committee. Discipline notices or notices of complaints involving serious matters will be published here for ten years. Please use our contact form to obtain information older than ten years.
Chiropractors
Dr. Murray Kievit – Consent Order – July 31, 2023
Registered Massage Therapists
Naturopathic Physicians
Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists
Non-Registrant Public Notices
Ashley Anne Legace – BC Supreme Court Injunction – November 24, 2021
Sarge Sandhu, aka Narinder Singh Sandhu – Unlicensed Practitioners – November 1, 2014
Sam Samrai aka Sam Harjit Kaur Samrai – Unlicensed Practitioners – November 1, 2014
Discipline hearings
If the Inquiry Committee decides on a discipline hearing, it will direct the College’s registrar to issue a citation. The matter is then transferred to the Discipline Committee. This option is typically reserved for serious matters where the Inquiry Committee has been unable to obtain a consensual resolution.
Discipline hearings are formal adjudicative processes before Discipline Committee panels, which consist of members of the public and health professionals who are registrants of CCHPBC. If a hearing is set, as the complainant you may have to testify about the matters in the complaint.
CCHPBC may be awarded costs by the Discipline Committee. However, the committee does not have the authority to order a registrant to pay damages or financial compensation or to compel an apology.
Discipline hearings are open to the public.