The CPTA's College Conversations

Speakers: Sean FitzGerald and Leanne Loranger  In this episode, Leanne and Sean discuss key changes connected to physiotherapists being designated as custodians under Alberta's Health Information Act , which took effect on June 22, 2026. The conversation focuses on three important concepts physiotherapists need to understand as they transition to HIA compliance: verbal consent for disclosure of he...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger   Privacy can feel complicated, but this episode makes it practical. Leanne and Jody break privacy basics into clear, manageable actions that can help physiotherapists strengthen client privacy in any practice setting. If you have ever wondered where to start, this conversation will help you focus on key privacy domains and four priority action areas: ·   ...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger   In this episode we revisit the topic of restricted activities in physiotherapy, bringing together key messages and practical clarifications to address some of the most common questions from registrants. The episode begins with an overview of the legislative framework that governs restricted activities, including how the Health Professions Act , the Healt...

Speakers: Leanne Loranger and Sean FitzGerald In this episode of College Conversations, Leanne and Sean continue their discussion of the most common questions received by the College's Practice Advisor in 2025, focusing on three key themes: Funding, Fees, and Billing; Continuing Competence; and Duty of Care. The conversation begins with Funding, Fees, and Billing, including questions about contrac...

Speakers: Leanne Loranger and Sean FitzGerald In this episode of College Conversations , Leanne and Sean kick off a two-part series exploring the most common questions received by the College's Practice Advisor. Drawing on an aggregate review of 2025 inquiries, they explain how tracking and coding questions to the Standards of Practice helps identify trends, inform the development of College resou...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger From time to time, conflicts and challenging situations may arise between physiotherapists and their clients, which may lead the physiotherapist to consider declining to continue to provide services to the client. These situations exist on a continuum from the slightly challenging to the potentially dangerous. The 2025 Duty of Care Standard codifies profes...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger In this episode, Leanne and Jody explore the governance role of Council and how it supports the College's legislated mandate to protect the public interest. Jody explains the College's responsibilities under the Health Professions Act , including setting entrance standards, ensuring continuing competence, establishing standards of practice, and addressing...

In this, the 80th episode of the CPTA's College conversations, Leanne and Jody reflect on the College's major activities in 2025 and share a preview of what we are anticipating in 2026.   2025 Highlights: Implementation of updated Standards of Practice in January 2025 and the related jurisprudence module which registrants completed at registration or renewal. Updated Sexual Abuse and Sexual Miscon...

Speakers: Leanne Loranger and Sean FitzGerald In this episode, Sean and Leanne dive into how artificial intelligence is popping up in physiotherapy—from chatbots for booking and billing tasks and scribe tools for clinical documentation to robotics - and the regulatory considerations to keep in mind. With the explosion of AI tools, physiotherapists may look at options that help them in their work....

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger "Vestibular physiotherapist', 'sports physiotherapist', 'advanced practice physiotherapist', 'performance physiotherapist…' On this episode, we ask what's wrong with being 'just' a physiotherapist? In this conversation, we review the requirements of the  Titles, Credentials and Specialty Designations Standard of Practice , highlighting the importance of cl...

Hosts: Leanne Loranger & Sean FitzGerald Date: October 1, 2025   Description: In this episode, Leanne and Sean dive deep into the realities of conflict of interest (COI) in physiotherapy practice. They explore how COI isn't just about what you do—it's about how your actions are perceived by others. Drawing on real-world scenarios from private practice, public sector, and clinical education, they u...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger On this episode of the College Conversations podcast, Jody and Leanne discuss the Code of Ethical Conduct and the Core Professional Values and how these foundational documents can help guide physiotherapist actions when the Standards do not specifically address a situation. Jody and Leanne discuss two common situations where being a regulated physiotherapi...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger   Every other year World Physiotherapy hosts a conference to bring together clinicians, researchers, and policy makers from around the world to discuss matters of importance to the physiotherapy profession. At the conference in May 2025, a wide range of content was presented.     Several themes of regulatory importance emerged, including ·       Mental hea...

Speakers: Sean FitzGerald and Leanne Loranger   Can a physiotherapist order a bone scan? What about a protein-rich-plasma injection?   Is there a difference between ordering interventional radiology and referring a client to a physician to see if an interventional radiology procedure is appropriate?   Do you wonder what fits within the category of interventional radiology and how that compares to...

Speakers: Sean FitzGerald and Leanne Loranger   In the private sector, physiotherapists are always trying to find ways to market the services they provide and explain what they can offer to their clients. One approach that the College has observed is the practice of referring to a physiotherapist's practice focus or area of interest.   On this episode, Sean and Leanne discuss performance expectati...

Speakers: Sean FitzGerald and Leanne Loranger   In 2025 the College added performance expectations to the Standards of Practice related to how physiotherapists interact with colleagues, students, and others. These expectations are especially relevant to the people a physiotherapist supervises or has authority over. Does it go without saying that physiotherapists treat others with respect and are t...

Speakers: Sean FitzGerald and Leanne Loranger   In 2025 a new standard of practice related to virtual care by Alberta physiotherapists came into effect. On this episode, Sean and Leanne discuss the history and evolution of the regulation of virtual care by the CPTA and the expectations physiotherapists need to meet when providing virtual physiotherapy services. They highlight the resources availab...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger   Up to date member profile information matters for physiotherapists because it can: ·       Help to prevent the physiotherapist's registration number from being used to fraudulently bill for services the physiotherapist did not provide. ·       Help to ensure a former most responsible physiotherapist is not held responsible for issues related to physiothe...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger   Evidence-informed practice is foundational to physiotherapy practice. As a profession, physiotherapists take pride in the fact that physiotherapy is an evidence-informed profession. When the new Evidence-Informed Practice Standard of Practice were implemented on January 1, 2025, new performance expectations came into effect which physiotherapists must be...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger   On this episode of College Conversations, Jody and Leanne take stock of the year that was and discuss what's coming our way in 2025.   Looking back at 2024, two major themes immediately come to mind. One is the ongoing work to address sexual abuse and sexual misconduct in physiotherapy practice. The other is the work to implement the 2025 Standards of Pr...

Speakers: Sean FitzGerald and Leanne Loranger On January 1, 2025, updated standards of practice for Alberta physiotherapists take effect. The updated Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Standard of Practice includes the requirement to engage in appropriate assessment, which includes taking a history and completing a physical examination relevant to the client's presenting symptoms. A physiotherap...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger On this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss the new Health Equity and Anti-Discrimination and Indigenous Cultural Safety & Humility standards of practice and the recently published Indigenous Cultural Safety, Health Equity, and Anti-Discrimination guide. Over the last four years, the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta has been on a learning journey. We be...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger At their September meeting, Council voted to approve the updated Standards of Practice for Alberta Physiotherapists. These updated standards will be in effect as of January 1, 2025. On this episode of College Conversations, Jody and Leanne provide listeners with an update about the Standards of Practice including: ·       The process the College used to de...

Speakers: Jody Prohar and Leanne Loranger On this episode of College Conversations, Jody and Leanne ask Alberta physiotherapists 'are you engaged in a risky business?' Listen to the episode to learn more about risky business arrangements that the College has become aware of in recent years. What does it mean to put the client's interests first? How can physiotherapists identify and avoid conflicts...

Over the last couple of years, there has been a steady increase in the public discourse about artificial intelligence or AI. Since the release of the generative AI tool ChatGPT4 in spring of 2023 we have seen the emergence of AI tools designed to support charting of health care services and platforms to support clinical decision making in health care, including those designed for or applicable to...