All physiotherapists hold a professional licence issued by the Portuguese Order of Physiotherapists. If you want to know whether an intervention has been carried out by a physiotherapist who is duly qualified to do so, you should ask to see the physiotherapist's professional card. The OF advises all citizens to ask for a physiotherapist's certificate when starting treatment.
You can also contact your physiotherapist at Directory on the website of the Order of Physiotherapists.
The physiotherapist will help you with specific physiotherapy interventions. You should bear in mind that when you are looking for a registered Physiotherapist, you are looking for a duly qualified health professional, who must act within quality standards and subject to a Code of Ethics, a Disciplinary Regulation and the guarantee of professional liability insurance.
Yes. Physiotherapists may practise another profession for which they are legally qualified, as long as they clearly differentiate the professional activity carried out at any given time.
Yes. All Physiotherapists who are legally qualified to carry out Physiotherapy at home can carry out Physiotherapy sessions at the patient's home. Physiotherapists may not carry out physiotherapy sessions in their own homes, unless they have premises that allow access and autonomous and duly appropriate private areas.
The physiotherapist has a duty of clarification in order to allow an informed choice and the user, or whoever is authorised to do so, has the right to be informed about the purpose and nature of the intervention, the right to consent or to constitute the right to refuse the intervention and to revoke consent.
Article 11 of Chapter IX of the Physiotherapist's Code of Ethics, which can be found at hereThis article is dedicated to the informed consent of users.
No. Physiotherapists work in different areas. Pain is a relevant symptom for both the patient and the physiotherapist, which must be taken into account, but it is not the only one. Physiotherapists also work in clinical situations in which the element of pain is not present.
Yes, one of the statutory functions of the Order of Physiotherapists is to defend the general interests of patients from services provided by its members, enforcing the citizens' right to health.
The Order of Physiotherapists has a Jurisdictional Council which, among other competences, can instruct and judge disciplinary proceedings against members of the Order.
There is a procedure in place to register and review all complaints submitted, depending on nature, which requires a response to the person or entity that submitted the complaint, and the respective referral.
If you would like to submit a report/complaint/complaint regarding a Physiotherapist, please fill in the available form here and send it to geral@ordemdosfisioterapeutas.pt.