HPCSA = The Health Professions Council of South Africa

The healthcare system in South Africa can be defined according to two sectors, namely public and private. The private sector is growing, but still significantly smaller than the public sector.

The private sector caters to around 7 million- mostly higher net worth people, leaving the public sector to cater for the rest. Ironically, the public sector actually spends less each year than the private sector even though it provides healthcare services to the majority of the population.
Statutory bodies such as The Health Professions Council of South Africa are on a constant mission to monitor and improve the standard of healthcare in South Africa.

The health professions council was founded to provide guidance to medical professionals as well as to monitor, regulate and improve the practice of healthcare in South Africa. This is achieved by setting and maintaining standards with regard to professional conduct, training and education, safety and ethical behaviour.

The HPCSA caters to the public and private sector. It provides a development system that offers seminars and workshops to medical professionals to maintain and improve the quality of the services they render. Members pay for these workshops through an annual membership fee.
The council consists of 12 professional boards. Each board is responsible for managing and implementing the procedures relating to that particular area of medical practice. The 12 boards are categorized according to medical field and are as follows:

1) Dental Therapy and Oral Hygiene
2) Dietetics
3) Emergency Care
4) Environmental Health
5) Medical and Dental, (and medical science)
6) Medical Technology
7) Occupational Therapy, Medical Orthotics / Prosthectics and Arts Theory
8) Optometry and Dispensing Opticians
9) Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Biokinetics
10) Psychology and Clinical Technology
11) Speech, Language and Hearing Professions
12) Radiography and Clinical Technology

The HPCSA follows a regulatory framework that includes the founding Health Professions Act 56 of 1974. The framework defines the scope of each profession and outlines the procedures to be followed by the HPCSA in monitoring the activities of healthcare practitioners.

Registration with the HPCSA is required to legally practice in any of the 12 fields of specialization. The registration process varies between the different professional boards. Once registered, it is also the responsibility of the involved parties to provide as accurate and up to date information as possible.