Chiropodist and Podiatrist Associate Agreements in Ontario: Key Terms for Foot Care Practices
Growing foot care practices often bring in other chiropodists or podiatrists to expand capacity, serve more patients and offer additional treatment options. The arrangement may be described as an associate relationship, an independent contractor relationship or an employment relationship. Whatever label is used, the written agreement should accurately reflect how the parties will work together.
A generic healthcare agreement may not address the operational and regulatory issues that arise in a chiropody or podiatry practice. Compensation, billing, patient records, equipment, orthotics, clinic branding and the departure of a practitioner all require careful attention.
This article outlines the key provisions Ontario foot care practices and practitioners should consider when preparing or reviewing an associate agreement.
Why a Written Associate Agreement Matters
Without a detailed agreement, the clinic owner and associate may have different assumptions about important questions:
Is compensation calculated using amounts billed or amounts actually collected?
Who pays for orthotics, medical supplies, laboratory charges and payment processing fees?
Who is responsible for refunds, remakes or adjustments?
Who controls patient records and responds to access requests?
Can the associate continue treating patients after leaving the clinic?
What happens to outstanding accounts, future appointments and unfinished treatment?
These issues are much easier to address at the beginning of the relationship than after a disagreement or departure.
The College of Chiropodists of Ontario states that its standards apply to registrants regardless of their role, job description or area of practice. An agreement should therefore work alongside each practitioner’s independent professional obligations rather than attempting to override them.
1. Employee or Independent Contractor Status
The agreement should clearly identify the intended relationship. However, calling someone an independent contractor does not automatically make that classification legally effective.
The practical working relationship matters. Relevant considerations may include:
Who controls the practitioner’s schedule and working methods
Whether the practitioner may work at other clinics
Who supplies instruments, equipment and materials
Whether the practitioner bears a meaningful opportunity for profit or risk of loss
How integrated the practitioner is within the clinic’s operations
Whether the practitioner hires or supervises their own staff
How the practitioner is presented to patients and the public
Misclassification can create exposure relating to employment standards, termination entitlements, payroll deductions and taxes. The agreement and the parties’ actual conduct should be aligned.
2. Scope of Services and Professional Independence
The agreement should identify the services the associate is expected to provide. Depending on the practice, this may include assessments, routine foot care, wound care, prescription footwear, custom orthotics, injections or surgical procedures that fall within the practitioner’s authorized scope and individual competence.
The contract should also recognize that the practitioner remains responsible for exercising professional judgment and complying with applicable legislation, College standards and any terms, conditions or limitations on their registration.
Clinic policies may govern administrative and operational matters, but they should not require a practitioner to act contrary to professional obligations or compromise patient care.
3. Compensation, Billing and Collections
Compensation provisions should be precise enough that both parties can independently calculate what is owed.
The agreement should address:
Whether the associate receives a percentage, fixed fee, hourly amount or another payment structure
Whether percentage compensation is based on billings, collections or collected professional fees
Which amounts are excluded before calculating the associate’s share
How taxes, refunds, chargebacks, discounts and bad debts are treated
Who determines patient fees
When statements and payments will be provided
Whether the associate may inspect the records used to calculate compensation
How accounts collected after the associate leaves will be handled
If the clinic provides products or devices, the agreement should distinguish professional fees from product revenue and clarify how the cost of goods is treated.
4. Orthotics, Footwear, Supplies and Laboratory Costs
Foot care practices may incur significant costs for custom orthotics, prescription footwear, dressings, instruments, medication, laboratory work and other clinical supplies.
The agreement should specify:
Who selects and contracts with laboratories and suppliers
Who pays laboratory, manufacturing and shipping charges
Whether product costs are deducted before percentage compensation is calculated
Who bears the cost of a remake, adjustment, return or refund
What happens when a patient does not collect a completed device
Who communicates with the patient and supplier when a problem arises
How unfinished orders are managed when an associate leaves
The College has specific standards concerning prescription custom foot orthoses and the manufacturing and dispensing process. Contract language should support those professional responsibilities and avoid creating incentives or procedures that conflict with them.
5. Clinic Space, Equipment and Administrative Support
An associate agreement should describe what the clinic will provide and what the associate must supply.
This can include:
Treatment rooms and clinic access
Sterilization facilities and infection-control supplies
Clinical instruments and specialized equipment
Electronic medical record access
Reception, booking and billing support
Telephone, internet and payment-processing systems
Marketing and website profiles
Storage space and security
Responsibility for equipment maintenance should also be clear. The College’s records standard requires equipment service records for instruments or equipment requiring servicing, and its practice standards place responsibilities on registrants concerning a safe and properly maintained practice environment.
6. Scheduling, Availability and Time Away
The agreement should explain how the schedule will be established and changed. It may address minimum availability, clinic hours, vacation notice, illness, appointment cancellations and coverage during absences.
These provisions require particular care in an independent contractor agreement.
Extensive clinic control over when, where and how services are delivered may be inconsistent with the intended contractor relationship.
The agreement should balance the clinic’s need for predictable coverage with the practitioner’s legal classification and professional independence.
7. Patient Records, Privacy and Access
Patient records are often one of the most difficult issues when a practitioner leaves a clinic.
The agreement should clearly address:
Which person or organization is the health information custodian
Who has custody or control of the records
How practitioners and clinic staff may access the records
Who responds to patient access and correction requests
How privacy incidents and complaints are managed
How records are secured, backed up, retained and destroyed
Whether the associate may receive copies when required for professional or legal purposes
What happens to records and future appointments when the relationship ends
The College’s Records Standard states that each registrant has individual statutory record-keeping responsibilities regardless of their employment circumstances or arrangement with a clinic. It also addresses confidentiality, retention, secure storage, electronic records and discontinuation of services.
The contract should not simply state that the clinic “owns” every record and prevent the practitioner from accessing information needed to meet professional duties. The arrangement should be developed with the Personal Health Information Protection Act, College requirements and the clinic’s actual privacy structure in mind.
8. Patient Relationships and Restrictive Clauses
Clinic owners often want to protect the patient relationships and goodwill they have developed. Associates want to preserve the ability to continue practising after the relationship ends.
An agreement may address:
Soliciting clinic patients
Soliciting employees or other practitioners
Using confidential clinic information
Contacting patients about the associate’s departure
Advertising a new practice
Working within a particular geographic area
Restrictive clauses should be drafted narrowly and carefully. Their enforceability depends on their wording, the surrounding relationship and the interests the clinic is attempting to protect. A clause that is unnecessarily broad may be difficult to enforce.
Patient choice and continuity of care must also remain part of the analysis. The agreement should establish a lawful and practical communication process rather than assuming patients can be treated as commercial property.
9. Confidentiality and Clinic Information
Confidentiality provisions should distinguish patient information from the clinic’s other confidential business information.
Business information may include:
Pricing and compensation structures
Supplier and laboratory terms
Referral-source information
Operational procedures
Business plans and financial information
Marketing strategies
Non-public employee and contractor information
The agreement should explain how this information may be used, how long confidentiality obligations continue and what must be returned or deleted when the relationship ends.
10. Insurance, Registration and Regulatory Matters
The associate should be required to maintain the registration, authorizations and professional liability insurance necessary for the services being provided.
The agreement should also address notice to the clinic if:
The practitioner’s registration or insurance expires
A term, condition or limitation is imposed
The practitioner becomes subject to an investigation or proceeding that materially affects the relationship
The practitioner is no longer authorized or able to provide the agreed services
Any reporting provision should be appropriately limited and drafted with privacy, procedural fairness and the clinic’s legitimate operational needs in mind.
11. Clinic Branding, Advertising and Intellectual Property
The agreement should establish whether the clinic may use the associate’s name, photograph, biography and professional credentials in its advertising.
It should also explain when that permission ends and how quickly the clinic must update its website, directory listings and promotional materials after departure.
If the associate creates educational materials, forms, presentations or other content, the agreement should clarify ownership and permitted use. Patient records should not be treated as ordinary intellectual property.
12. Termination and an Orderly Departure
A strong termination section does more than establish a notice period. It provides a practical plan for ending the relationship without disrupting patient care or clinic operations.
The agreement should address:
Termination with notice
Circumstances permitting immediate termination
Payment for services already provided
Treatment already underway
Outstanding laboratory orders and orthotics
Patient notification and continuity of care
Record access, retention and transfer
Return of keys, equipment and confidential information
Removal from booking systems, websites and insurance portals
How patient inquiries will be handled
Which obligations continue after termination
The College’s Records Standard requires a registrant discontinuing services to take reasonable steps to provide appropriate notice to patients for whom the registrant has primary responsibility and to make appropriate arrangements for their records.
The agreement should facilitate those obligations.
13. Dispute Resolution
The agreement should set out a process for addressing disputes before they disrupt patient care or lead to litigation.
Depending on the circumstances, the process may include:
Good-faith discussions between the parties
Written notice identifying the disputed issue
Mediation
Arbitration or court proceedings
The agreement should also identify the governing law and clarify whether either party may seek urgent relief when confidential information, patient records or clinic property are at risk.
Why Generic Healthcare Templates Are Often Inadequate
A generic template may omit issues specific to foot care practices, including orthotics, prescription footwear, clinical equipment, laboratory arrangements and the College’s detailed record-keeping requirements.
Templates may also combine employee and contractor language, use compensation formulas that do not match the clinic’s billing process or contain restrictive clauses that are broader than necessary.
The agreement should be built around the clinic’s actual operations. The way the parties work together should then remain consistent with what the agreement says.
Legal Support for Chiropodists and Podiatrists in Ontario
Delta Law assists Ontario chiropodists, podiatrists and foot care clinic owners with:
Associate and independent contractor agreements
Employment agreements
Professional corporation setup
Clinic policies and patient documentation
Privacy and record-management agreements
Commercial lease reviews
Supplier, laboratory and service contracts
Agreements for practitioners joining or leaving a clinic
Learn more about Delta Law's legal services for chiropodists and podiatrists.
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. Legal advice depends on the facts of each situation.
Need Help With an Associate Agreement?
If you are opening a foot care practice, adding an associate or reviewing an existing agreement, contact Delta Law to discuss how we can assist.
