Physiotherapists transgressions lodged at the Health Professions Council of South Africa between 2010 and 2020.
Nokuzola D Dantile, Nombeko Mshunqane, Cornelius W van Staden
PMID 39649526WHAT IT FOUND
The most frequent physiotherapy misconduct reported to South Africa's HPCSA was charging for services not rendered, followed by inaccurate accounts and false claims.
Clinicians should keep billing, consent, boundaries and advertising within professional rules.
Key findings
01Of 875 HPCSA cases involving all health professionals from 2010 to 2020, 21 were physiotherapists.
02The most frequent physiotherapy transgression was charging for services not rendered, at 28.17% of complaints, followed by inaccurately drafted accounts (23.94%) and false medical aid claims (21.12%).
03Medical aid schemes filed most complaints, followed by patients, then fellow practitioners.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study looked only at finalised HPCSA cases, so complaints that were not finalised or were resolved in another way may not be represented. The records did not include years in practice, area of practice, appearance at inquiry or penalty imposed, so the study could not examine those factors. The paper notes a complaint processing backlog, with many complaints received and fewer finalised, so the case count may not reflect the true frequency of misconduct. The study reports only physiotherapists found guilty at the HPCSA, not all allegations or all physiotherapists, so it cannot give a profession-wide rate.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the reported cases show how common physiotherapy misconduct is. The study counted only finalised HPCSA cases and notes a complaint-processing backlog, so it does not measure all misconduct.