Guidance on Updated Personal Information 

Are your contact details with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) up to date? If not, you could be missing out on critical communication – or worse, facing avoidable penalties. Whether you are a student, intern, or practising professional, it is a legal and professional obligation to keep your personal information updated. Here’s why it matters – and how to ensure you are always in the loop.

Importance of Updated Personal Information 
As a practitioner registered with the HPCSA under any of the 12 Professional Boards, including the Dietetics and Nutrition Board it is a legal requirement in the Health Act 56 of 1974, point 18 (1-3)* to always keep all personal details up to date, and this point includes reference to students. Personal information has become a buzzword since the introduction of the POPI Act. Personal details may be general and special information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person and, where applicable, an identifiable, existing, juristic person like, for example, an incorporated practice (Inc).

The HPCSA widely uses personal information, such as emails and SMSs, to communicate important information to practitioners. The HPCSA relies on information available in its database, which the practitioners provide. Some of the information that is usually shared with practitioners includes CPD non-compliance status, registration and complaints linked to individual practitioners, e-bulletin, newsletters, webinars and roadshows, to name a few. The HPCSA also requests that students use their personal email addresses as their student email addresses expire when students graduate, and this is an important time in their professional journey when transitioning to community service and/or independent practice when keeping contact with the HPSCA is very important.

Incorrect and outdated contact information leads to practitioners not responding to emails or phone calls and not reaching the right person; communication is delivered to physical addresses that do not exist. For example, if the practitioner has a case against their name and does not respond to any communication sent to them within a reasonable time, this is regarded as contempt of Council and is punishable with a fine.

How to Update Personal Information?
The HPCSA has introduced the practitioner portal on their website. In the current era, the HPCSA  expect registered practitioners to have an active profile on the online service page and can easily navigate and acquit themselves with services available on the portal . It is important to note that all registered practitioners have an account assigned to them.  We have three categories: existing practitioners using their accounts, practitioners who never used their accounts or visited the platform, and those new ones altogether. Therefore, practitioners can update their personal details online by visiting the website and following these steps in chronological order:

Step 1. Visit www.hpcsa.co.za
Step 2: Under Popular links or Quick links click on Online Services
Step 3: Then click on the Login or Sign-up button on the right side and at the top of the page

• Existing practitioners can log in by entering their ID or Passport number as their username and then providing a password.
• Practitioners new to the platform will enter their username, click on the forgot username or password link, and wait for the SMS and email to reset the login details. Once you receive this information, you will follow the prompt and save the changes.

Step 4: Once successful login, Click on Online Services in the top menu bar and under the Service Request heading, click Update Personal Information.
Step 5: Complete the details of the information you want to update in the dialogue box, which will be shown after clicking update personal information. Click on the Submit Your Service Request button below the dialogue box to send the request
Step 6: A confirmation message bearing a service request reference number will be shown after filing the request.
Step 7: You can follow up on your request by clicking Account Overview, and the list of service requests you made will appear.

Consequences of Not Updating Personal Information
The consequences of not updating your personal information are calamitous and expensive for both the practitioner and the HPCSA. Practitioners’ deregistration with HPCSA, lengthy time taken to complete preliminary and inquiry cases, and certain fines could have been avoided if practitioners had considered the importance of updating personal information. We, therefore, urge all practitioners to use the website to effectively update their personal information and remember that the onus is on the individual practitioner to manage the information provided to the HPCSA.