IHPSO Professional Code of Conduct

Version 1.0 · Status: FINAL · Applies to: IHPSO Professional Members

1. Purpose

The IHPSO Professional Code of Conduct defines the foundational conduct obligations for IHPSO Professional Members.

It complements the applicable IHPSO Professional Standards and establishes a shared foundation for integrity, Scope of Practice, evidence-proportionate communication, safety, transparency and Professional Accountability.

IHPSO Membership does not replace government licensing, profession-specific authorization or legally required qualifications. The Code does not automatically expand a Professional's statutory Scope of Practice.

Professionals remain responsible for complying with all legal, regulatory, professional, organisational and contractual requirements applicable to their work.

2. Integrity & Professional Conduct

IHPSO Professionals commit to:

• act truthfully, honestly and professionally;
• represent their qualifications, experience, competence, Membership, credentials and professional role accurately;
• avoid misleading, false or unsupported statements about themselves, their services or IHPSO;
• avoid representing Professional Standing beyond their actual current IHPSO status;
• correct material errors appropriately once identified.

Professional credibility requires conduct that can withstand scrutiny.

3. Scope of Practice

IHPSO Professionals work within their actual Scope of Practice.

Scope is not determined by Membership, professional title, course completion or personal experience alone. It arises from the interaction of:

Competence · Professional Role · Applicable Rules · Context

Professionals commit to:

• perform only activities for which they are appropriately competent and authorized;
• not misrepresent Education, Coaching or general information as Diagnosis, Treatment or another regulated professional service;
• not present IHPSO Membership, Certificates or Badges as expanding government or statutory professional authority;
• appropriately limit, clarify or refer when uncertain about scope.

4. Evidence & Scientific Communication

IHPSO Professionals commit to communicating scientific claims so that the strength of language does not exceed the strength and relevance of the evidence.

This includes:

• distinguishing specific claims from general assumptions;
• not improperly equating Association, Causation, Mechanism, Biomarker and Clinical Outcome;
• not knowingly concealing material uncertainty, limitations or conflicting evidence;
• not presenting testimonials or personal experience as substitutes for appropriate evidence supporting objective Health Claims;
• updating scientific positions when better evidence requires it;
• addressing material conflicts of interest transparently.

Evidence gaps are part of the evidence.

5. Safety & Risk

IHPSO Professionals treat Safety as an ongoing professional process.

They commit to:

• consider relevant hazards and risks within their role;
• appropriately consider Person, Exposure, Dose, Intensity, Duration, Frequency and potential Risk Stacking;
• not minimize known material risks or important uncertainty;
• use stopping criteria and referral appropriately;
• take new, severe, unusual or persistent warning signs seriously;
• apply local emergency procedures where acute danger may be present.

Red Flag ≠ Diagnosis.

Professionals do not diagnose solely from a warning sign; they recognize when Stop, Modify, Refer or Emergency Action may be required.

6. Informed Choice & Autonomy

IHPSO Professionals respect the decision-making autonomy of the people with whom they work.

Where relevant to the professional setting, purpose, expected benefit, material risks, uncertainty, alternatives and the option not to undertake or to stop an intervention should be communicated understandably.

Professionals must not influence decisions through deception, inappropriate pressure, fear, artificial urgency or misleading authority claims.

Informed Choice does not legitimize activity outside Scope and does not replace required medical, regulatory or legal authorization.

7. Privacy, Confidentiality & Data Responsibility

IHPSO Professionals handle personal and confidential information responsibly.

They commit to:

• collect or use only information appropriate to a legitimate professional purpose;
• respect confidentiality and applicable data-protection requirements;
• avoid unnecessary disclosure of sensitive information;
• not use data, biomarkers, wearable outputs or other personal information outside a legitimate purpose;
• comply with applicable safety or disclosure obligations where required.

8. Conflicts of Interest & Commercial Transparency

Commercial interests are not automatically unethical. They must, however, be handled transparently where they could reasonably influence a professional recommendation or how it is perceived.

IHPSO Professionals commit to:

• disclose relevant financial interests, affiliate relationships, sponsorship, product ownership or other material conflicts appropriately;
• not place commercial interests above Safety, Scope or scientific integrity;
• not use misleading claims to sell products, services, Memberships or interventions;
• not present compensation or financial interest as scientific evidence.

9. Professional Boundaries & Respect

IHPSO Professionals treat people with respect and maintain professional boundaries.

They commit to:

• not exploit relationships involving power, trust or dependency;
• avoid inappropriate discrimination, harassment, intimidation or exploitative conduct;
• keep their professional role clear with clients, participants, learners and the public;
• recognize boundaries and respond appropriately when a professional relationship can no longer be continued responsibly.

10. Referral & Collaboration

Professional competence includes recognizing when different expertise is required.

IHPSO Professionals commit to:

• refer appropriately where a question falls outside their Scope or competence;
• not act as though a diagnosis has been made when responding to relevant risks or Red Flags;
• involve other qualified Professionals respectfully where appropriate or necessary;
• treat Referral as a legitimate professional decision rather than personal failure.

11. Accurate Representation of IHPSO Status

IHPSO Professionals may represent only their actual current IHPSO status.

In particular:

• ACTIVE may be represented only while the Professional is recorded as ACTIVE in the IHPSO system;
• once Membership expires, Active Professional Member status must no longer be claimed;
• IHPSO Membership must not be represented as a government licence, government recognition, medical authorization or automatic external accreditation;
• Education Badges and Certificates document the designated IHPSO Education Completion;
• the IHPSO Professional ID belongs to the individual and must not be transferred to another person or organisation;
• the published IHPSO Registry Profile is authoritative for publicly represented IHPSO status.

12. Accountability & Continuing Responsibility

IHPSO Professional Standing is an ongoing responsibility.

Professionals commit to:

• follow applicable IHPSO Professional Standards;
• address relevant changes in status or professional circumstances in accordance with IHPSO Requirements;
• correct material errors or misleading public statements appropriately;
• respond appropriately to Incidents and Near Misses and learn from them;
• review Professional Practice where evidence, Standards or applicable requirements change.

No harm does not mean no lesson.

13. Relationship to IHPSO Standards and Applicable Law

This Code forms part of the IHPSO Professional Framework.

It does not replace:

• applicable law;
• government or regulatory requirements;
• profession-specific standards;
• medical or other field-specific guidelines;
• employer or organisational requirements;
• contractual obligations.

Where a binding external requirement is stricter than this Code, the stricter applicable requirement remains controlling.

IHPSO Membership does not create authority to perform activities that a person would otherwise not be permitted to perform.

14. Governance, Potential Breaches & Fair Process

Acceptance of this Code creates an obligation to comply with its requirements throughout IHPSO Professional Membership.

An alleged breach of this Code is not automatically an established breach. Where IHPSO reviews a potential Code violation, the assessment should be based on reasonably documented information and the affected Professional should generally have an appropriate opportunity to respond to material allegations before an adverse final Membership decision is made, except where an interim measure is reasonably required to protect people, the integrity of the Registry or the IHPSO system.

Depending on severity, context, repetition and potential harm, proportionate responses may include:

• guidance, education or a requirement to correct;
• correction of misleading public representation;
• additional review or compliance requirements;
• temporary restriction or suspension of IHPSO status;
• termination or revocation of IHPSO Membership or status where the applicable governance process provides for it.

An IHPSO Membership or status decision is not a government, medical or profession-specific disciplinary determination and does not replace the jurisdiction of legal, regulatory or professional bodies.

A separate IHPSO Complaints & Accountability Process should govern jurisdiction, submission, review, notice, response, possible interim measures, decision, documentation and, where applicable, review/appeal. This Code alone is not intended to substitute for a complete disciplinary procedure.

15. Versioning & Continuing Acceptance

For each acceptance of this Code, at minimum the Professional's identity, acceptance date/time and accepted Code version should be traceably recorded.

Material changes to the Code are versioned. IHPSO may require renewed explicit acceptance of a materially revised version before a Professional continues or renews ACTIVE status. Editorial or non-material changes do not automatically require renewed acceptance.

When assessing an alleged Code violation, the Code version in effect at the time of the relevant conduct should generally be considered, unless applicable requirements provide otherwise.

16. Acceptance

By accepting this Code, the Professional confirms that they have read and understood the IHPSO Professional Code of Conduct and agree to comply with it and with the IHPSO Professional Standards applicable to their Membership.

Acceptance of the Code is a requirement for Active Professional Status within the IHPSO Framework.