The Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) requires that all health regulatory Colleges in Ontario have measures for preventing and dealing with the sexual abuse of patients/clients and to encourage the reporting of such abuse. Although this provision in the RHPA specifically addresses the prevention of sexual abuse, Respiratory Therapists (RTs – Registered, Graduate, Limited and Inactive) should note that any form of abuse (e.g., sexual, verbal, physical, emotional, financial) is not tolerated and may be considered to be professional misconduct by the College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario (CRTO). This practice guideline will differentiate between sexual abuse and other forms of abuse. A section of this practice guideline will also discuss the effect of the Child and Family Services Act on Respiratory Therapy practice.

View the Abuse Awareness & Prevention Professional Practice Guideline here.

This guideline is intended to provide direction to Members wishing to perform advanced procedures below the dermis and to individuals developing required certification programs to ensure that minimum requirements are met.

View the Certification Programs for Advanced Prescribed Procedures Below the Dermis Professional Practice Guideline here.

RRTs who practice in the community often face different opportunities and challenges than their colleagues working in hospitals. A key distinction is the uniquely autonomous nature of community practice, which requires RRTs working in that setting to be self-directed and possess a high degree of professional competency. This is because RRTs in the community are regularly required to independently make important care decisions and act in accordance with their own personal knowledge and judgement.

The purpose of this PPG is to support Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRTs) who work in a community setting, which may include traditional locations such as patients’ homes and physicians’ offices, as well as non-traditional sites, such as schools and assisted living facilities.

View the Community Respiratory Therapy Practice Professional Practice Guideline here.

The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) identifies thirteen controlled acts that pose significant risk of harm to the public of Ontario. These acts may only be performed by regulated health care professionals who are authorized by their profession specific Acts to do so. If a procedure involves controlled acts that are not authorized to Respiratory Therapists, then the authority to perform those controlled acts can only come from delegation from another authorized regulated health care professional OR an exception under the RHPA. This Professional Practice Guideline (PPG) provides information regarding the standards of practice related to the delegation of controlled acts.

View the Delegation of Controlled Acts Professional Practice Guideline here.

This Professional Practice Guideline (PPG) provides specific information regarding the interpretation of the controlled act of dispensing in order to assist Members in determining what is and what is not dispensing and when accepting the delegation to dispense medication is appropriate.

View the Dispensing Medications Professional Practice Guideline here.

This Professional Practice Guideline (PPG) outlines the standards and principles of proper medical documentation and deals with specific issues such as abbreviations, documentation of consent and electronic charting.

View the Documentation Professional Practice Guideline here.

This guideline provides information of the controlled acts authorized to Respiratory Therapists (RT) in the Respiratory Therapy Act (RTA). It contains examples under each act and it outlines the responsibilities of each RT to attain and upgrade relevant skills.

View the Interpretation of Authorized Acts Professional Practice Guideline here.

The Orders for Medical Care Professional Practice Guideline was developed by the CRTO to serve both the interest of the public and the Members of the CRTO, by ensuring that healthcare providers who perform procedures involving controlled acts are authorized to do so in accordance with the legislation, regulations, policies, and guidelines that govern their practice.

View the Orders for Medical Care Professional Practice Guideline here.

Respiratory Therapists (RTs) possess a unique body of knowledge and therefore, have the opportunity to share and enable other to develop expertise and confidence. In one way or another, all RTs provide education to those around them. However, it is important to differentiate between RTs who provide education and RT educators.

View the Respiratory Therapists Providing Education Professional Practice Guideline here.

This guideline clarifies the CRTO’s stance on the provision of telepractice services by its Members.

View the Respiratory Therapists Providing Telepractice Services Professional Practice Guideline here.

Obtaining consent can be guided by a step-by-step process that RTs should consider everytime they are faced with obtaining consent for treatment. A decision tree is included as a visual aid below to assist RTs in their process of obtaining consent and to complement the outline of the PPG. RTs must remember to act within their scope of practice and use their professional judgement to advocate for the best interests of their patients at all times. This guideline provided information regarding what constitutes informed consent, and the determination of the capacity to consent. Issues around substitute decision makers and the Consent & Capacity Board are also discussed.

View the Responsibilities Under Consent Legislation Professional Practice Guideline here.

This document has been developed in order to assist RTs in learning how to achieve quality infection prevention and control practices. The SARS epidemic in 2003, the H₁N₁ Pandemic in 2009, and the MERS and Ebola 2014/2015 outbreaks – as well as the likelihood of another pandemic influenza – suggest it is vital for RTs to remain informed and up to date on current infection prevention and control best practices.

View the Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Best Practice Guideline here.

This document has been developed in order to provide resources and tools for Respiratory Therapists who are independently administering oxygen and to mitigate the risks that may be associated with independently administering oxygen therapy in their clinical practice.

View the Oxygen Therapy Clinical Best Practice Guideline here.