Did you know?

Chiropractic is a regulated health profession in Ontario, relied on by 3.5 million Ontarians annually for specialized musculoskeletal (MSK) diagnosis and treatment.¹ This makes them the second most consulted health care providers in the province, after medical doctors.

Highly educated, trained and regulated, chiropractors are spine, muscle, joint and nervous system experts who safely and effectively treat pain, improve mobility and prevent injuries — all without medication or surgery.
But regulatory barriers prevent chiropractors from ordering advanced diagnostic imaging for patients, even though they have the knowledge, training and clinical judgment.

Did you know?

Chiropractic is a regulated health profession in Ontario, relied on by 3.5 million Ontarians annually for specialized musculoskeletal (MSK) diagnosis and treatment.¹ This makes them the second most consulted health care providers in the province, after medical doctors.

Chiropractors are one of the highest educated, trained and regulated health care professionals. They are spine, muscle, joint and nervous system experts who safely and effectively treat pain, improve mobility and prevent injuries — without medication or surgery.
But regulatory barriers prevent chiropractors from ordering advanced diagnostic imaging for patients, even though they have the knowledge, training and clinical judgment.

Frequently Asked Questions

If a chiropractor needs an advanced diagnostic imaging test like an ultrasound, MRI or CT scan to diagnose your condition and develop an appropriate treatment plan, they can’t order it for you — even though they’re trained to do so.
This means your chiropractor has to refer you back to a family doctor or to a walk-in clinic to order the test, causing delays in your chiropractic treatment (even if you’re in pain) and placing unnecessary administrative burdens on the health system.

Chiropractors could help more if they had the ability to order advanced diagnostic imaging and select lab tests for their patients. Removing this restriction and expanding their scope of practice would put patients first by ensuring those with nMSK conditions had access to the care they need, when they need it. Unnecessary visits to a family doctor or walk-in clinic to request tests from your chiropractor would be eliminated, reducing wait times for diagnosis and treatment so you can feel better sooner.
But there are benefits for the health system too. New data shows that 2.5 million Ontarians don’t have access to a family doctor right now.² If chiropractors could directly order advanced diagnostic imaging tests for their patients when needed, this would ease some of the administrative burden on family doctors, streamlining care and increasing their capacity to see patients for non-nMSK-related issues.

The benefits of expanding scope for chiropractors include:
  • Eliminating unnecessary family doctor and walk-in clinic visits (and related administrative burdens) by patients who have to book appointments just to request the ordering of diagnostic tests from chiropractors.
  • Improving access to diagnostic care and treatment for Ontarians who see a chiropractor but don’t have a family doctor to order these tests.
  • Reducing the time patients have to take off from work, school and other commitments to attend unnecessary appointments.
  • Reducing urgent care and emergency department visits for unmanaged nMSK conditions.
  • Streamlining care and reducing wait times for diagnosis and treatment of nMSK conditions.
  • Improving health outcomes and patient satisfaction by leveraging the expertise of chiropractors.

Chiropractors can help. And they want to do more. The goal of this scope expansion is to improve timely access to diagnosis and treatment for patients who are already receiving care or are looking to receive care from a chiropractor for an nMSK condition.
Chiropractors are already integrated into Ontario’s health care system and are part of interprofessional care teams. They regularly consult with family doctors, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, and others to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to patient care.
Chiropractors are committed to continuing to work with their interprofessional colleagues to enhance patient care, increase capacity and reduce wait times across Ontario’s health system.
[1] The 2025 CCA/OCA-commissioned IPSOS poll cites a 27% chiropractor utilization rate for the adult population in the past 12 months. According to Statistics Canada projections for 2025, Ontario’s adult population (20 years of age and older) is 12,987,616. Therefore, according to these figures, over 3.5 million Ontarians will use the services of chiropractors in 2025.
[2]https://ontariofamilyphysicians.ca/news/new-data-shows-there-are-now-2-5-million-ontarians-without-a-family-doctor/