Study Kneads

Congrats 🎉
Passing exams is HUGE — but registration is just the starting line, not the finish line.

Here’s your post-registration checklist so you don’t miss anything 👇

✅ 1. Decide HOW You’ll Practice

Choose your path (you can mix later):

• 🏥 Clinic employee / contractor ( Click to see guideline for finding the right clinic for you)
• 🏠 Mobile RMT
• 🧘 Home-based practice
• 🚀 Future solo clinic

This affects licenses, taxes, and insurance.

✅ 2. Get Your Business Basics Ready

Even if you’re “just starting”:

• ✅ Business License (City-Specific)
  If you are:
  Working as an independent contractor
  Doing mobile massage
  Running a home-based or solo practice
  You usually need a business license from the city you operate in.
  📌 Important:
  Licenses are city-specific (Vancouver ≠ Richmond ≠ Burnaby)
  Some clinics will ask for proof
  Mobile RMTs may need multiple licenses
  💡 Even if you’re “just starting,” getting licensed early avoids delays later.
  
  ✅ GST Account
  Technically:
  You don’t need to register if your revenue is under $30,000/year
  BUT in real life:
  Many clinics collect GST on your behalf
  They then split the GST with you on payday
  Without a GST account, this can become messy or risky
  ✔ Having a GST account means:
  Clean bookkeeping
  No confusion at tax time
  You’re ready when you cross $30K
  💡 It’s easier to open it early than scramble later.
  
  ✅ Separate Bank Account (Highly Recommended)
  Not legally required — but strongly recommended.
  Why?
  Separates personal vs business money
  Makes bookkeeping and taxes much easier
  Looks professional if you’re audited
  Easier to track clinic income, GST, and expenses
  📌 Tip:
  You don’t need anything fancy — a basic business chequing account works.
  
  ✅ WorkSafeBC (Apply as a Business)
  If you work as a contractor, WorkSafeBC sees you as a business, even if it’s just you.
  Why apply?
  Some clinics require a WorkSafeBC clearance letter
  Needed if you plan to treat WCB patients
  Protects you if you’re injured at work (with optional coverage)
  📌 Even with no employees, you can (and often should) register.
  💡 Setting this up early prevents:
  ❌ clinic onboarding delays
  ❌ lost shifts
  ❌ last-minute stress

💡 Set it up right once → less stress later.

✅ 3. Charting & Record Keeping

Charting isn’t just “school stuff.”
It’s legal protection, professional accountability, and patient safety.

📌 If it’s not charted — it didn’t happen.

• Secure, compliant charting
• Consent forms
• Intake & SOAP notes
• Backup system (cloud or encrypted)

⏰ Chart Within 24 Hours

This is a must, not a suggestion.

• Charts should be completed as soon as possible
• Within 24 hours of treatment
• While findings are still accurate and defensible

📌 Late charting increases:
❌ errors
❌ memory gaps
❌ legal risk

💡 If there’s ever a complaint, timestamps matter.

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🔐 Secure, Compliant Charting

You must record:

• Assessment findings
• Clinical impression
• Treatment provided
• Patient response
• Homecare & plan

📌 Charts must be:

• Confidential
• Secure
• Accessible only to authorized users
• Stored according to regulatory requirements

Format doesn’t matter — security and completeness do.

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✍️ Consent Forms

You must have written, informed consent, including:

• Initial consent
• Ongoing consent
• Consent for sensitive areas
• Consent for changes in treatment

📌 Consent must be:

• Dated
• Clear
• Stored with the patient record

No consent = no protection.

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🧾 Intake & SOAP Notes

At minimum:

• Health history intake
• Red flags & contraindications
• SOAP or structured notes

💡 Be consistent — chart the same way, every visit.

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💾 Storage: Paper, Digital, or Hybrid

You must decide how records are stored — and secure them properly.

📂 Paper Records

• Locked filing cabinet
• Secured room
• Access limited to authorized persons only

❌ Never leave charts unattended or unlocked

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💻 Digital Records

• Password-protected devices
• Encrypted storage
• Auto-lock enabled
• No shared family devices

❌ No casual notes apps or unencrypted files

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🔁 Backup System (MANDATORY)

You must have a backup.

Best practice:

• Primary record (paper or digital)
• Encrypted backup
• Stored in a separate location

Options:

• Encrypted external hard drive
• Secure cloud storage
• Both (ideal)

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🛑 Common Risky Mistakes

❌ Charting days later
❌ Photos of charts on your phone
❌ Patient info on unencrypted USBs
❌ Emailing charts to personal email

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🧠 Final Reminder

Charting is not admin work —
it is license protection.

If something goes wrong, your chart is your only evidence.

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✅ 4. Direct Billing Setup

Register with:

Insurance Providers (Common in BC & Canada)

These are the insurers your patients most often use.
You don’t always register with each one individually — many are accessed through eClaims — but you should know the names.

• Sun Life
• Manulife
• Canada Life
• Green Shield Canada
• Pacific Blue Cross
• Desjardins Insurance
• Equitable Life
• iA Financial Group
• ClaimSecure
• GroupHEALTH
• CINUP

eClaims platforms (if applicable)

🔹 TELUS Health eClaims

This is the main platform used by most RMTs in BC.

Through TELUS eClaims, you can bill:

• Sun Life
• Manulife
• Canada Life
• Green Shield
• Desjardins
• ClaimSecure
• Equitable Life
• iA Financial Group
  …and more

This can take days to weeks, so start early.

🔹 Provider Connect

Used mainly for:

• Pacific Blue Cross
• Some Blue Cross–specific plans

📌 Often separate from TELUS eClaims.

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✅ 5. Build Your Professional Presence

You don’t need to go viral — just be visible:

• Simple IG page or Google profile
• Clear services + contact info
• Professional photo (even phone is ok!)