Privacy Policy

At Du Toit and Els physiotherapy practice, we provide physiotherapy services to the pediatric population. The practice is subject to various laws protecting the privacy and confidentiality of data subjects (e.g. the Health Professions Act and the National Health Act), including patients, as well as the ethical rules and policies of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement applies to personal information that we have in our possession or under our control, and information that we collect or receive from or about you (for example, when you obtain physiotherapy services at the practice and/or submit information via our website).

Your privacy and the security of your information are just as important to us and we therefore want to make sure you understand how your information will be processed. We acknowledge that we are required by law to keep your personal information confidential and secure. We are committed to conducting our practice in accordance with the law in order to ensure that the confidentiality of your personal information is protected and maintained. We take this commitment to look after your personal information seriously. We have implemented a number of processes to make sure that your personal information is used in the right way.

Processing and Disclosure of Patients’ Personal Information

There are various laws that permit the processing of your personal information such as the National Health Act, the Health Professions Act and POPIA. We will only process, which includes collect, use, store or disclose, your personal information in accordance with the law or otherwise with your consent and will always strive to keep your information confidential, whether you supply it directly to us or whether it is collected lawfully from other sources.

We generally process personal information for one or more of the following purposes:

to conduct and manage the practice in accordance with the law, including the administration of the practice and claiming and collecting payment for services rendered;
for communication purposes;
for the maintenance of practice records;
for reporting to persons and bodies as required and authorised in terms of the law or by you;
for historical, statistical and research purposes;
for proof;
for enforcement of the practice’s rights; and/or
for any other lawful purpose related to the activities of a private physiotherapy practice.

We do not use your personal information for commercial purposes.

Privacy Principles

We apply the following principles in order to protect your privacy:

No more personal information about you and your child than what is necessary is collected;
Your personal information is only used for the purposes specified in this Privacy Statement, unless you are advised otherwise;
Your personal information is not kept by us if it is no longer needed; and
Other than as specified in this Privacy Statement or otherwise agreed with you, we do not share your personal information with third parties.

Reason for collecting Information

There are various laws that permit the processing of your personal information such as labour laws and POPIA. We will only process, which includes collect, use, store or disclose, your personal information in accordance with the law or otherwise with your consent and will always strive to keep your information confidential, whether you supply it directly to us or whether it is collected lawfully from other sources.

When your child becomes a patient of the practice, we will use your personal information as follows:

to provide appropriate physiotherapy services;
to communicate with you in respect of your care, including reminding you of appointments and collecting payments for services rendered;
for administrative purposes, including preparing invoices and collecting payment for services rendered;
to refer you to other practitioners;
to report to referring practitioners;
record-keeping;
for historical, statistical and research purposes;
as proof;
for enforcement of the practice’s rights;
for any other lawful purpose related to the activities of a private physiotherapy practice; and/or
as may be requested or authorised by you.

Depending on the circumstances, your personal information will be disclosed to the following persons and entities:

relevant treating practitioners to ensure appropriate care;

next-of-kin (if it is necessary in the circumstances);
your funder (such as your medical scheme upon its request, for example, to allocate benefits);
your insurance company (upon your request);
bodies performing peer review of our practitioners / clinical practice audits;
our professional advisers as well as employees and service providers who assist us to provide the services and who perform functions related to the administration of the practice, subject to confidentiality agreements;
debt collectors and credit bureaus, if your accounts are outstanding;
public and private bodies (such as regulators), as may be required in terms of the law;
law enforcement structures, including courts and tribunals;
as required or permitted by law, including to comply with any legal obligation or to protect the rights, property or safety of our business, employees, patients, the public or others; and

When You Provide Information

You must make sure that if you provide personal information about any individual or entity to us, you may lawfully do so (e.g. with their consent). We will accept that you are acting lawfully. You should make sure that they are familiar with this Privacy Statement and understand how we will use and disclose their information.

Security of Your Personal Information

We are committed to ensuring the security of your personal information in order to protect it from unauthorised processing and access as well as loss, damage or unauthorised destruction. We have implemented and continually review and update our information protection measures to ensure the security, integrity, and confidentiality of your information in accordance with industry best practices. In addition, only those employees and service providers that require access to your information to discharge their functions and to render services to us are granted access to your information and only if they have concluded agreements with or provided undertakings regarding the implementation of appropriate security measures, maintaining confidentiality and processing the information only for the agreed purposes.

Social Networking Services

We use social networking services such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to communicate with the public about our services. When you communicate with us through these services, the relevant social networking service may collect your personal information for its own purposes. These services have their own privacy policies, which are independent of Du Toit and Els’ Privacy Statement.

Right to Access your Personal Information

You have the right to have access to your personal information subject to restrictions imposed in legislation. You may request access to your information in our possession or under our control and information of third parties to whom we supplied that information. If you wish to exercise this right, please complete and submit the prescribed form to the Information Officer. Costs may be applicable to such a request.

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under 13, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online.

Changes to our Privacy Statement

We reserve the right in our sole and absolute discretion, to revise or supplement this Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect, amongst others, any changes in our business or the law. We will publish the updated Privacy Statement on our website at http//www.physioforkids.co.za.