Full Scope Podiatry Model in Ontario

The College of Chiropodists of Ontario, along with the Ontario Society of Chiropodists and the Ontario Podiatric Medical Association, support the shift to the Podiatry Model to help streamline and modernize registration pathways for healthcare professionals who practise foot care in Ontario. The Chiefs of Ontario passed a resolution at their June 2023 Annual General Meeting in support of the Podiatry Model, in recognition of the benefits the Podiatry Model will have in addressing triple the rates of lower limb amputations experienced in some First Nations communities.

The transition to the Full Scope Podiatry Model (FSPM) in Ontario will include the following:

  • College Name Change – College of Podiatrists of Ontario
  • Registrant Name Change – ‘Podiatrists’
  • Expanded Scope – Full Scope Podiatry (modeled on the existing models in Alberta and BC)
  • Program of Podiatry in the Province
  • Removal of Legislative Cap Preventing the registration of Podiatrists

Data extracted from the following reports underscore the benefits of transitioning to the Podiatry Model:

  • Shah, B. R., Frymire, E., Jacklin, K., Jones, C. R., Khan, S., Slater, M., Walker, J. D., & Green, M. E. (2019). Peripheral arterial disease in Ontario First Nations people with diabetes: a longitudinal population-based cohort study. CMAJ open, 7(4), E700–E705. https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20190162
  • Loewen, K., Vigliarolo, J., Lance, B., Rockley, M., Schreiber, Y., Kivi, C., Dwyer, C., & Kelly, L. (2017). Rates of diabetes-related lower-limb amputation in northwestern Ontario: an incidence study and introduction of a standardized diabetic foot ulcer management protocol. Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine, 22(3), 100+. pdf (srpc.ca)

The FSPM will reduce the need for lower limb amputations and reduce hospitalizations of patients, enabling practitioners to meet current healthcare needs within the field without unnecessary delay and duplication of healthcare services and ensuring a more effective and efficient delivery of high-quality foot care to patients. The Podiatry Model will most strikingly provide much needed footcare to First Nations communities that available research data shows to have been traditionally underserviced.

It is expected that modernizing to a FSPM will attract more qualified podiatrists to the province. Based on comparative data, Ontario’s footcare needs can be met by over 3000 registered podiatrists in the province.

Additional resources:

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