News: Insurance Updates and New Guidelines Impacting Manual Therapies in 2026

News: Insurance Updates and New Guidelines Impacting Manual Therapies in 2026

Hook: New guidance on documentation and archiving is rolling out across several jurisdictions in 2026. Therapists must adapt recordkeeping habits and understand legal obligations around client data retention.

What changed

Several regulatory bodies issued updated guidance on storing intake forms, digital consent, and the archiving of client records. These changes emphasize secure, auditable storage and clear client consent for digital records. For legal context on archiving the web and preservation practices, see the legal watch piece: Legal Watch: Copyright and the Right to Archive.

Practical adaptations

• Move intake forms to encrypted storage and keep change logs.
• Create a retention policy: what to keep, for how long, and the deletion process.
• Provide a clear privacy notice and obtain digital consent during booking.

Insurance and liability

Insurers are requesting clearer documentation of continuing education and competency for specific techniques. If you rely on contractor networks, collect and verify insurance certificates and track expirations centrally.

Staffing and hiring implications

For clinics that use contractors, new employer tools make it easier to verify credentials and manage short-term hires. Recent platform enhancements for employers at OnlineJobs.biz illustrate a trend toward better verification workflows.

Data portability and client requests

Clients can request copies of their records. Design a simple export workflow and test it quarterly. For system design ideas, look at practices for building lightweight content or asset stacks: How We Built a Lightweight Content Stack — the same principles apply to records export and portability.

Recommendations for clinics

1. Review and update your privacy notice and consent forms.
2. Migrate intake to an encrypted service that supports audit logs.
3. Create a 12-month rolling compliance checklist tied to continuing education.

"Good recordkeeping is both a legal shield and a tool for better care — treat it as clinical infrastructure, not busywork."

Resources and next steps

Consult a solicitor with healthcare experience when you update policies — see guidance on choosing a solicitor in 2026: How to Choose the Right Solicitor in 2026. For PR and communication around policy changes, the primer on measuring PR impact helps craft messages that preserve client trust: Measuring PR Impact.