Guide · Medical practices

What a clinic
site may say.

Physicians in Ontario work under some of the tightest advertising rules of any profession. Most of them are written into regulation, not just College guidance, and they reach into ordinary website copy: patient quotes, the line under a doctor's name, the clinic name and the fees page. Here is what applies as of November 2026.

Published 2026-11-04 · Formory Marketing Group

The core rules are in Part II of O. Reg. 114/94 under the Medicine Act, sections 5 to 9. Section 5 says a physician may not advertise, communicate the availability of services or solicit patients except in line with that Part. O. Reg. 856/93 then lists professional misconduct, including breaches of those sections.

The College's own expectations changed on November 4, 2026. CPSO replaced its 33 policies with four Professional Obligations documents, backed by shorter Obligations in Practice pages. Advertising now sits under "Advertising Responsibly" in the Practice Management Obligations. If your marketing checklist still cites the old Advertising policy, it points to a page CPSO no longer publishes.

Section 6 allows a physician to share factual, accurate and verifiable information that a reasonable person would consider material in choosing a physician. That information must not be false, misleading or deceptive, including by leaving things out, and it must not contain a testimonial or any comparative or superlative statement. It must also be readily comprehensible, dignified and in good taste.

The 2026 obligations restate this: advertising must put patient protection ahead of commercial interests, must be supported by evidence when it makes scientific or clinical claims, and must not be false, misleading, exaggerated, comparative or contain a testimonial.

So patient quotes on the home page are out, and so are "Toronto's best walk-in clinic" and "shorter waits than any clinic nearby". Patients can still post reviews on Google themselves. Copying those reviews onto your own pages or into an ad is hard to square with the testimonial ban, so leave them where patients wrote them.

Under section 6, advertising may not refer to a specific drug, appliance or equipment. A services page can say the clinic offers laser hair removal or injectable treatments; it should not name the branded device or product. O. Reg. 856/93 adds that misrepresenting a remedy, treatment or device is misconduct, as is any claim about a treatment's usefulness that cannot be supported as reasonable professional opinion.

Before-and-after photos and videos are allowed only to give accurate and educational information, and only with the patient's express consent. A gallery built to sell results does not meet that test. When posting on social media, CPSO also expects patient health information to be de-identified or published with express consent, and general health information to be accurate, evidence-based and within the physician's expertise.

Section 9 controls specialty language. A physician may use a specialty or subspecialty title only if certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the College of Family Physicians of Canada, or formally recognised in writing by CPSO as a specialist.

Wherever a physician's name appears in anything that promotes their services, website included, it must be immediately followed, clearly, prominently and in full, by that specialty title or by "General Practitioner". Academic degrees and certifications may sit between the name and the title. An area of practice may then be described, even with a specialty word the physician is not certified in, but only after the title, preceded by "practising in", and only if the physician has the knowledge, skills and judgment for that work. A team page entry can read "Dr. Anna Lee, MD, General Practitioner, practising in sports medicine"; "Dr. Anna Lee, sports medicine specialist" breaks the rule unless she holds that certification.

Some words are reserved outright. "Surgeon" and "surgery" are limited to certified or recognised surgical specialists, "plastic" to plastic surgeons, and "ophthalmologist" and "otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon" to those specialists. The rule covers any use in respect of the physician's practice, so it reaches clinic names and service headings as well as titles.

A physician must practise under the name on the CPSO register; using another name is misconduct under O. Reg. 856/93. Physicians may use "Dr": section 33 of the Regulated Health Professions Act restricts the title when providing health care, but exempts CPSO members, along with chiropractors, optometrists, psychologists, dentists, naturopaths (who must write "naturopathic doctor" after their name) and some traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Anyone else on the team page, whatever their degree, should not appear as "Dr". Under the Medicine Act, only CPSO members may use "physician" or "surgeon".

Section 6 also bars a physician's name from any communication offering a product or service other than their own medical services. The Association with Products or Services page adds that a physician in a multidisciplinary clinic may appear in its advertising, but the copy must not suggest they endorse or provide services they do not personally provide. A spa menu next to a doctor's photo needs that line drawn clearly.

CPSO's Uninsured Services and Block Fees page sets the limits a fees page has to respect. Physicians may not charge for insured services or their parts, such as referrals, the paperwork of accepting a new patient or arranging appointments, nor charge for being available to a patient. That rules out a paid "membership" for priority access to insured care. Uninsured services may be charged if the fee is reasonable, and where insured and uninsured services are offered together, the clinic must make clear which elements carry a fee.

Patients must be told the fee directly before an uninsured service, except in emergencies. A missed-appointment or late-cancellation fee, for less than 24 hours' notice, needs the policy communicated in advance and a way to cancel. A published fee schedule and cancellation policy helps with both, but it supports the conversation rather than replacing it.

Section 8 forbids contacting anyone known to need medical services in order to win their business. Appointment reminders are allowed, and so are messages to regular patients about due health maintenance, health issues and recent developments, or a possible benefit from a change in therapy. Section 7 forbids taking part in any system in which another person steers or recommends people to a physician, apart from honest referrals with no conflict of interest. Check how a lead-generation or directory service finds you patients before you sign.

Each physician under their registered name, followed by their specialty title or "General Practitioner", with any area of interest after "practising in". Services described in plain terms, without brand names, guarantees or comparisons. No patient quotes, star widgets or "best in the city". A fees page that separates insured from uninsured services and states the cancellation policy. Before-and-after images only where they teach, with consent on file. Our notes on websites for medical practices cover the rest.

This is a plain summary of O. Reg. 114/94, O. Reg. 856/93 and CPSO's Professional Obligations as of November 2026, not legal or professional advice. CPSO's Physician Advisory Service answers registrants' questions about the Professional Obligations and legislation.

• O. Reg. 114/94 (General) under the Medicine Act, 1991 — Part II, Advertising, sections 5 to 9
• O. Reg. 856/93 (Professional Misconduct) under the Medicine Act, 1991 — section 1
• Medicine Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 30 — section 9
• Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 — section 33
• CPSO — CPSO Transforms Policy Framework and Launches Professional Obligations, November 4, 2026
• CPSO — Practice Management Obligations (Advertising Responsibly; Charging for Medical Services)
• CPSO — Obligations in Practice: Association with Products or Services
• CPSO — Obligations in Practice: Uninsured Services and Block Fees
• CPSO — Medical Professionalism Obligations (social media)
• CPSO — Physician Advisory Service

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