Industry Playbooks
Healthcare Website Compliance — Canada
Canadian healthcare practitioners — dental, medical, chiro, physio, mental health — face website compliance obligations the average marketing agency does not know exist. This guide maps PHIPA, PIPEDA, AODA, and college advertising rules to specific website decisions.
Note: This is not legal advice. Final compliance is the practitioner's responsibility — verify with your regulatory college and a Canadian healthcare lawyer.
The four overlapping obligations
PHIPA (Ontario) / equivalent provincial health-info-protection laws — patient data, intake forms, online booking.
PIPEDA — applies to private-sector data handling for non-government practices.
AODA / WCAG accessibility — Ontario practices must be WCAG-AA-equivalent.
Regulatory college advertising rules (e.g. RCDSO, CPSO, CCO) — testimonial restrictions, before/after content, comparative claims.
Specific website decisions
Intake forms: must collect explicit consent + store on a Canadian-resident server when possible.
Booking software: prefer Canadian (Jane App, OWL) or platforms with Canadian data residency.
Testimonials: most colleges restrict patient testimonials. Use case-study language carefully and avoid before/after for some practices.
Privacy policy: must specify what data is collected, where stored, retention period, how to request access/deletion.
Cookie consent: required if any non-essential cookies (analytics, ads).
Health information must NOT be sent via email without explicit consent + encryption.
Marketing claims: no "best in [city]" or superlative language without substantiation.
Talkerstein recommendation
For healthcare practices, book a 1-hour legal review with a Canadian healthcare lawyer at draft stage. Their fee ($300-$800) is cheaper than the fix when something is wrong. We coordinate this for our healthcare clients.
Related
Canadian AODA Accessibility Checklist
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About The Author
Rishon Talkar
Principal & Managing Partner
Founder and digital growth advisor trusted by organizations from SME to enterprise for websites, eCommerce, SEO, paid media, automation, and revenue strategy.
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