Patient Confidentiality & Terms
All At Procare Dental Surgery, your trust is the foundation of our care. This document clarifies our clinical duties regarding medical confidentiality and outlines our adherence to the legal frameworks governing private healthcare facilities in South Africa.
1. HPCSA Registered Practitioners
All practicing dentists and clinical operators at Procare Dental Surgery are formally qualified and actively registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). We operate strictly within the ethical guidelines, professional regulations, and clinical codes of conduct set out by the council to guarantee safe, legal, and premium oral healthcare delivery.
2. Our Strict Confidentiality Pledge
Every piece of clinical and administrative information linked to your treatment—including medical histories, oral diagnostic imaging, charts, diagnoses, and payment terms—is bound by a rigorous ethical duty of absolute medical secrecy. No staff member may disclose clinical details about you to third parties without your clear, written instruction, except where explicitly modified by law.
3. Necessary Exceptions as per South African Law
In accordance with Chapter 2 Section 14 of the National Health Act (Act 61 of 2003), clinical confidentiality boundaries are legally overridden, and information must be shared, in the following narrow instances:
Court Mandates: If a court orders the release of clinical folders or a valid legal subpoena is formally served.
Statutory Legislation: If an explicit South African Act makes disclosure mandatory (e.g., specific reporting obligations under the Children’s Act or the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act).
Public Interest Protection: Where a failure to disclose information introduces a severe, real, and immediate danger to public security or individual lives.
4. Medical Aid Data Handling
When instructing the practice to submit diagnostic treatment codes directly to your medical scheme for reimbursement, certain diagnostic and treatment records must be provided to the scheme administrator. This process complies entirely with POPIA and is executed solely to process your direct financial benefits.
5. Patient Responsibility
To ensure clinical safety, patients are required to provide comprehensive, accurate updates regarding their overall medical histories, systemic health status, active prescriptions, and chronic conditions. Procare Dental Surgery guarantees that all such updates are immediately secured within our protected clinical database management layers.
Thank you for trusting Procare Dental Surgery with your oral healthcare needs.