Free Compliance Evaluation

How Compliant Is
Your Practice?

Answer a short set of questions across 8 compliance areas. Receive your personalised Compliance Readiness Snapshot and gap report by email, free, within minutes.

37 Questions
8 Compliance Modules
15 min To Complete
Free No Obligation
Practice Information Section 1 of 10
About Your Practice
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POPIA & Patient Data Privacy
The Protection of Personal Information Act applies to every practice that holds patient data. Fines for non-compliance can reach R10 million plus criminal prosecution.
Every practice that processes patient data must register an Information Officer with the Regulator. It is mandatory and now actively enforced, yet most practices have never done it.
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POPIA section 17 and the PAIA manual require a documented policy, not a verbal understanding. It must reference POPIA and be accessible to patients.
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POPIA section 19 requires you to physically safeguard personal information. Open receptions and visible screens are both a POPIA breach and an OHSC inspection point.
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POPIA section 11 requires documented consent to process personal data. Clinical consent alone does not cover the use of their data.
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POPIA sections 20 and 21 require a written contract with every operator that processes patient data on your behalf. Almost no practice has these in place.
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HPCSA Professional Compliance
The Health Professions Council of South Africa governs professional conduct, advertising, CPD, and record-keeping. Non-compliance can result in suspension from practice.
HPCSA Booklet 9 requires records kept for a minimum of six years, longer for minors. Poor record-keeping is one of the most common HPCSA disciplinary findings.
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Displaying each practitioner's HPCSA certificate is one of the first things an OHSC inspector checks. A missing or expired certificate on the wall is recorded as a finding.
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The HPCSA requires 30 CPD points per two-year cycle. Without a formal log, practitioners cannot demonstrate compliance during an audit.
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Ethical Rule 9 governs locum tenens. If a locum is not registered and you have not checked, you carry the liability for an unregistered practitioner working in your rooms.
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Occupational Health & Safety Act
The OHS Act imposes personal liability on the principal dentist as employer. Non-compliance carries fines of R100,000 and up to 2 years imprisonment for the responsible person.
OHS Act sections 7 and 8 require both a signed health and safety policy and a hazard risk assessment. Failure carries personal criminal liability for the employer under section 37.
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The OHS Act must be displayed where staff can read it, and emergency signage is checked during Department of Labour inspections.
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The General Safety Regulations make a first aid box and a trained first aider compulsory. Certificates lapse after three years and boxes run empty, so this is a frequent inspection failure.
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COIDA registration is compulsory for every employer. Without a current Letter of Good Standing, you are personally liable for any workplace injury claim.
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Employment Law
The BCEA, LRA, and Employment Equity Act govern every employer-employee relationship. An unfair dismissal CCMA award can reach R1.2 million — equivalent to 12 months of salary for a specialist.
BCEA section 29 requires written particulars of employment for every employee. A verbal arrangement gives no protection at the CCMA. This is the single most common employment exposure for small practices.
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The 2022 Code of Good Practice on Harassment now requires every employer to have a policy. Its absence is itself a finding of non-compliance.
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BCEA section 30 and EEA section 25 require these summaries to be displayed in the workplace. Almost no practice does, and most do not know they must.
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UIF registration and monthly contributions are compulsory for every employer. Non-compliance attracts SARS penalties and interest.
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The OHS Act requires staff to be trained on workplace hazards, and inspectors ask for the training record. Most practices train informally and log nothing.
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Radiation Safety & NNR Compliance
The National Nuclear Regulator governs all ionising radiation in dental practices. Non-compliance can result in the suspension of x-ray equipment — shutting the practice down entirely.
This determines whether the NNR radiation safety questions apply to your practice. Practices without any x-ray equipment are exempt from NNR requirements.
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NNR Regulations require both a documented radiation safety programme and a designated RPO as the NNR's point of contact. Their absence is grounds for equipment suspension.
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Every x-ray unit must be individually registered with the NNR and the certificate kept on site. Expired or missing certificates mean the equipment cannot legally be used.
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Wall and door shielding must be verified to meet NNR specifications. Many practices have never had shielding tested, one of the most common NNR inspection failures.
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NNR requirements include monitoring occupational radiation dose. A practice that cannot show a dosimetry and QA audit trail will fail an NNR inspection.
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Infection Control & Clinical Safety
The OHSC General Practice Inspection Tool specifically inspects infection control, sterilisation, waste management, and clinical safety equipment. These are among the most common inspection failures in dental practices.
The OHSC and the Hazardous Biological Agents Regulations require a documented sterilisation protocol covering pre-cleaning, packaging, autoclave operation, validation and storage.
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The OHSC inspection requires these displays to be visible at the point of care in every clinical room. Missing posters are recorded room by room.
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Yellow infectious, red anatomical and black domestic waste must be segregated, sharps containers kept below the fill line, and the medicine fridge used for nothing else. All are common inspection failures.
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An autoclave is a pressure vessel that must be inspected and certified under the Pressure Equipment Regulations. Most dentists have never had this done and do not know it is required.
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These are the operational records an OHSC inspector verifies were consistently kept. Waterline water-quality testing in particular is almost never done.
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Business & Statutory Compliance
CIPC, SARS, B-BBEE, municipal compliance and NHI accreditation readiness. These obligations apply to every practice registered as a company — and most dentists are unaware of several of them.
Companies must file annual returns within 30 business days of their anniversary. Failure leads to deregistration, the company loses its legal existence and its contracts become void.
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The HPCSA requires adequate indemnity cover. For practices with associates, each associate's cover must be verified annually. Without it, a single claim could mean personal financial ruin.
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These three premises certificates are required to operate legally as a health establishment. Many practices are missing one or more, which is an illegal occupation of the premises.
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The Consumer Protection Act and HPCSA Booklet 19 require a clear written cost estimate before treatment. A verbal estimate does not meet this and is a growing source of billing complaints.
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Patient Safety & Clinical Governance
The OHSC General Practice Inspection Tool evaluates clinical governance, patient safety protocols, incident management, and informed consent. These standards underpin NHI accreditation and HPCSA ethical compliance.
NHA section 7 and HPCSA Booklet 4 require valid documented consent describing the procedure, risks and alternatives. Verbal consent alone will fail an OHSC inspection.
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The OHSC standards require a documented process for managing clinical incidents and governance. Without it, a single serious incident can lead to an enforcement notice and practice suspension.
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OHSC inspectors physically verify emergency equipment. A missing AED or an expired drug kit results in automatic enforcement action.
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The OHSC requires an incident register to exist and be accessible, even if nothing has ever happened. Its absence is an automatic inspection failure.
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Emergency checks must be logged with dates and signatures, and BLS certificates must be current, typically renewed every two years. Inspectors check both.
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