Privacy Policy

Last updated: 24 July 2026

1. Introduction

Riversdal Mediese Praktisyns respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information entrusted to us.

This Privacy Policy explains how Riversdal Mediese Praktisyns, referred to as “the Practice”, “we”, “us” or “our”, collects, uses, stores, protects and shares personal information when you:

• visit our website;
• submit an enquiry through our contact form;
• contact us by telephone, email or another communication channel;
• request or make an appointment;
• receive healthcare services from the Practice; or
• otherwise interact with the Practice.

We process personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, commonly referred to as POPIA, the National Health Act 61 of 2003 and other applicable South African laws and professional obligations.

2. Responsible party

For purposes of POPIA, the responsible party is:

Riversdal Mediese Praktisyns
73 Church Street
Riversdale
Western Cape
6670

Telephone: 028 713 2500
After-hours emergency number: 072 055 5733
Email: gpriversdal@gmail.com

Privacy-related requests may be directed to the Practice’s Information Officer using the contact details above.

3. Personal information we collect

Depending on how you interact with the Practice, we may collect the following information:

3.1 Identity information

This may include your:

• full name;
• identity number or date of birth;
• gender, where relevant to your healthcare;
• medical-scheme membership details; and
• information necessary to confirm your identity.

3.2 Contact information

This may include your:

• telephone or mobile number;
• email address;
• residential or postal address; and
• preferred method of communication.

3.3 Appointment and enquiry information

This may include:

• your preferred appointment date or time;
• the reason for your appointment;
• messages submitted through our website;
• correspondence with our reception or medical team; and
• records of appointment confirmations, changes or cancellations.

3.4 Health and medical information

When you become a patient, we may collect information relating to your:

• health, symptoms and medical history;
• diagnoses, treatments and prescriptions;
• allergies and medication;
• consultation notes;
• clinical test results;
• referrals and reports;
• medical images;
• family or genetic history where clinically relevant; and
• other information required to provide healthcare services.

Health information is regarded as special personal information under POPIA and is treated with an appropriately high level of confidentiality and protection.

3.5 Billing and medical-scheme information

This may include:

• account details;
• invoices;
• payment records;
• medical-scheme details;
• authorisation information; and
• information required to submit or process claims.

The Practice does not intentionally collect bank-card information through the general website contact form.

3.6 Technical and website information

When you access the website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:

• your Internet Protocol address;
• browser and device type;
• operating system;
• pages visited;
• referring website;
• approximate location;
• date and time of access; and
• website interaction information.

This information may be collected through server logs, cookies, analytics tools or similar technologies.

4. Information submitted through the website

The website contact form may request your name, surname, contact number, email address and message.

Please do not submit detailed medical histories, identity numbers, medical-scheme information or highly sensitive medical information through the general website contact form unless specifically requested by the Practice.

The contact form and ordinary email should not be used for urgent medical concerns or emergencies.

5. How we collect information

We may collect personal information:

• directly from you;
• from a parent, guardian, caregiver or authorised representative;
• from another healthcare practitioner;
• from a hospital, laboratory, radiology provider, pharmacy or allied healthcare provider;
• from your medical scheme or administrator;
• from publicly available sources where lawful;
• through the website and its technical systems; or
• where collection is otherwise authorised or required by law.

Where you provide personal information about another person, you confirm that you are authorised to provide that information.

6. Why we process personal information

We may use personal information to:

• respond to enquiries;
• arrange and manage appointments;
• identify and communicate with patients;
• provide medical consultations, tests, treatment and related services;
• maintain accurate health records;
• issue prescriptions, referrals and medical reports;
• communicate with laboratories, pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare providers;
• process accounts and medical-scheme claims;
• manage emergencies and continuity of care;
• comply with legal, professional and regulatory obligations;
• investigate complaints or incidents;
• protect patients, employees, practitioners and the Practice;
• maintain and secure the website;
• improve our services and administration; and
• send practice-related notices or communications where permitted.

We will not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected unless authorised by law or with appropriate consent.

7. Lawful processing

We process personal information where:

• you have provided consent;
• processing is necessary to provide healthcare or administer an appointment;
• processing is necessary to perform an agreement with you;
• processing is required by law;
• processing protects your legitimate interests or those of another person;
• processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of the Practice or a third party, provided your rights are appropriately protected; or
• another lawful basis under POPIA applies.

Consent may not always be the sole basis for processing medical information. The Practice may need to retain or process certain information to provide care, maintain legally required records or comply with professional obligations.

8. Children’s personal information

The Practice provides healthcare services to children and may process personal information concerning minors.

Children’s information will only be processed where:

• a competent person, such as a parent or lawful guardian, has consented;
• processing is necessary for the provision of healthcare;
• processing is permitted or required by law; or
• another lawful justification applies.

The Practice will consider the child’s age, capacity, best interests and applicable consent requirements when handling children’s information.

9. Medical confidentiality

Patient information is confidential.

We will only disclose health or medical information where:

• the patient has consented;
• disclosure is necessary for treatment or continuity of care;
• disclosure is made to an authorised healthcare provider;
• disclosure is required for medical-scheme administration;
• disclosure is required or permitted by law;
• disclosure is necessary to protect the patient or another person from a serious risk; or
• another recognised legal or professional basis exists.

The National Health Act addresses confidentiality, access to health records and protection of health records, while the HPCSA publishes professional guidance on confidentiality and health-record management.

10. Sharing personal information

Where necessary and lawful, we may share information with:

• doctors, nurses and authorised Practice employees;
• locum practitioners;
• laboratories and diagnostic providers;
• pharmacies;
• hospitals and emergency-service providers;
• allied healthcare practitioners;
• medical schemes and administrators;
• billing, accounting and auditing service providers;
• legal and professional advisers;
• website, hosting, email and information-technology providers;
• security and data-storage providers;
• regulatory bodies and professional councils;
• government authorities; and
• law-enforcement bodies where legally required.

Third-party service providers may only process information for authorised purposes and should apply appropriate confidentiality and security safeguards.

We do not sell patient or website-user information.

11. Referrals and allied healthcare services

Where a patient is referred to an external healthcare practitioner or service provider, relevant personal and clinical information may be shared where necessary for the referral, treatment, billing or continuity of care.

External healthcare providers operate independently and may have their own privacy practices.

12. International transfers

Some website, email, cloud-storage or information-technology service providers may process or store information outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, the Practice will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is permitted under POPIA and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

13. Retention of information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• provide healthcare;
• maintain medical and administrative records;
• comply with legal and professional retention requirements;
• resolve disputes or complaints;
• process accounts or medical-scheme claims; and
• protect the Practice’s lawful interests.

Medical records may need to be retained for extended periods in accordance with applicable legislation and professional guidelines.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely destroyed, deleted or de-identified, subject to applicable legal requirements.

14. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

• loss;
• unauthorised access;
• misuse;
• alteration;
• destruction;
• disclosure; and
• unlawful processing.

Measures may include access controls, password protection, physical security, secure backups, staff confidentiality obligations, system monitoring and restricted access to medical records.

No electronic communication or internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users should therefore avoid sending unnecessary sensitive medical information through ordinary email or the website contact form.

15. Security incidents

Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, the Practice will investigate the incident and comply with applicable notification obligations.

POPIA provides for notification and regulatory processes relating to security compromises.

16. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you;
• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion or destruction where legally permitted;
• object to certain processing;
• withdraw consent where processing depends on consent;
• request information about third parties who have received your information; and
• lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

Some requests may be limited by medical-record obligations, legal requirements, the rights of other persons or recognised grounds for refusing access.

The Information Regulator provides prescribed forms for objections, correction or deletion requests and complaints.

17. Requests to access or correct information

Requests should be submitted to:

The Information Officer
Riversdal Mediese Praktisyns
Email: gpriversdal@gmail.com
Telephone: 028 713 2500

We may require proof of identity and sufficient information to locate the relevant record.

Access to records may also be subject to the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 and the Practice’s PAIA Manual. PAIA governs access to information held by public and private bodies where that information is required for the exercise or protection of rights.

18. Cookies

The website may use cookies or similar technologies to:

• support website functionality;
• remember user preferences;
• understand website usage;
• improve performance;
• prevent abuse; and
• support third-party features.

You can restrict or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the website’s functionality.

19. Third-party content and links

The website may contain links to or content from third-party services, including:

• map services;
• social-media platforms;
• review services;
• analytics services; and
• external healthcare resources.

These services may collect information under their own privacy policies. The Practice is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites.

20. Direct marketing

The Practice will only send promotional or direct-marketing communications where permitted by law.

You may opt out of marketing communications at any time. Opting out of marketing will not prevent the Practice from sending appointment reminders, account notices, test-related communications or other necessary healthcare and administrative messages.

21. Complaints

We encourage you to contact the Practice first so that we can attempt to resolve your concern.

You may also lodge a POPIA complaint with the Information Regulator:

Information Regulator South Africa
Telephone: 010 023 5200
Toll-free: 0800 017 160
Email: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za

The Information Regulator also provides an online complaint process through its eServices portal.

22. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to:

• our services;
• the website;
• our information-handling practices;
• legislation; or
• regulatory requirements.

The revised policy will be published on the website with an updated revision date.

23. Contact us

Questions about this Privacy Policy may be directed to:

Riversdal Mediese Praktisyns
73 Church Street
Riversdale
Western Cape
6670

Telephone: 028 713 2500
Email: gpriversdal@gmail.com