Physiotherapists transgressions lodged at the Health Professions Council of South Africa between 2010 and 2020

Abstract

Background: Complaints of ethical and professional misconduct are lodged and processed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in accordance with their legal mandate.

Objectives: This study describes the nature and frequency of transgressions by physiotherapists as concluded by the HPCSA for the period from 2010 to 2020.

Method: A total sampling method was used to extract all records of transgressions lodged against physiotherapists between 2010 and 2020. In a quantitative retrospective records review design, data were captured with the objective to report these descriptively. Ethics approval was granted by the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee of the University of Pretoria and permission to use the records was granted by HPCSA.

Results: Twenty-one transgressions by physiotherapists during the study period were recorded at the HPCSA. Most transgressions were charging for services not rendered (n = 20 times), invoices drafted inaccurately (n = 17) and false claims submitted to the medical aid schemes (n = 15). Other transgressions included failure to obtain informed consent and patient identity prior to treatment, charging for an unkept appointment, overservicing, misleading advertisements, love relationship with a patient and treating an animal in the same practice as humans.

Conclusion: The transgressions were unprofessional in nature with the most frequently reported being false claims and accounts submitted to the medical aid by physiotherapists for services not rendered.

Clinical Implications: The knowledge of transgressions will influence decision making and restrain infringement to enhance sound ethical practice.