Privacy policy (POPIA) | Nadia Pienaar Optometrists

Who we are

Nadia Pienaar Optometrists is an independent optometry practice at Netcare Medical Centre, Constantia Corner, Suite 2, Wattle Street, Roodepoort, 1724. We are the "responsible party" for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with and what your rights are.

Who this policy is for

Our patients
The person responsible for a patient's account, and a patient's relative or friend whose contact details we are given
Visitors to this website

What we collect

Your name, title, date of birth, ID or passport number, language and occupation
Your contact details: cellphone, work and home numbers, email, and physical, postal and work addresses
Your medical aid details, if you have one
Your eye health history, test results and prescriptions
Details of the glasses, lenses and other products you order from us
Your account and payment history with us
The name and contact number of a relative or friend, when you give it to us
Your signature, when you sign a form on paper or online
Messages you send us by email, WhatsApp or through this website

How we collect it

Most of it comes from you, in person, on our forms, by phone, by WhatsApp, by email or through this website. Some of it may come from the person responsible for your account, from your medical aid, or from another health practitioner who refers you to us.

Why we collect it

To examine your eyes and provide your eye care
To order and supply your glasses, lenses and other products
To make, confirm and remind you of appointments
To submit claims to your medical aid, manage your account and collect amounts owed
To contact a relative or friend if we need to
To meet the record-keeping and other legal duties that apply to health practitioners
To send you practice news, where you have not asked us to stop

We only collect what we need for these purposes. Information about your health is special personal information, and we use it only to care for you and as the law allows.

Children

When a patient is under 18, we collect and use their information with the consent of a parent or guardian.

Who we share it with

We share only what is needed, and only with:

Your medical aid and its administrators, to submit claims
The laboratories and suppliers that make your lenses or supply your frames
Other health practitioners, when we refer you or you ask us to
Service providers who help us run the practice, such as our practice software, IT, email and website providers, who must keep it confidential
Debt collectors, attorneys and credit bureaus, if an account is not paid
Regulators, courts and law enforcement, where the law requires it

We do not sell your information.

Information stored outside South Africa

Your patient record is kept on our practice system at the practice. Some of the services we use, such as email, WhatsApp and Google Analytics, may store limited information on servers outside South Africa. Where that happens, we rely on the safeguards those providers give.

Forms on this website

When you request an appointment on this website, your details are sent to our practice email so that we can contact you. When you complete the patient information sheet online, your answers and your signature are sent to our practice email, together with the date, the time and the internet address the form was sent from. These forms are not stored on the website.

Marketing messages

We may send you practice news or reminders. You can ask us to stop at any time by replying to the message or contacting us, and we will remove you from the list.

Cookies and Google Analytics

When you first visit our website we ask whether we may use Google Analytics cookies. These are small files saved in your browser that show us how many people visit the website, which pages they look at and which buttons they click, for example Call or WhatsApp. We use this only to improve the website. It does not tell us who you are and it is not linked to your patient record.

The cookies are only set if you click Accept. If you click Decline, Google Analytics is not loaded at all. You can change your choice at any time with the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page. Google provides this service and stores the information on its own servers. The patient information form and the pages after it never use these cookies.

How long we keep it

We keep patient records for as long as the law and the rules of our profession require, and then delete or destroy them securely. We keep other information only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected for.

How we keep it safe

Your records are kept in our practice system, with access limited to practice staff. Our staff must keep your information confidential. If your information is ever accessed by someone who should not have it, we will tell you and the Information Regulator as the law requires.

Your rights

To ask what information we hold about you, and to get a copy
To ask us to correct information that is wrong or out of date
To ask us to delete information, where the law allows
To object to how we use your information
To ask us to stop sending you marketing messages
To withdraw consent you have given, where we rely on your consent
To complain to the Information Regulator

To use any of these rights, contact our Information Officer below. Our PAIA manual, which explains how to request records from the practice, is available from the practice on request.

The Information Regulator

If you are not happy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first so that we can put it right. You may also lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa. Its contact details and complaint forms are on its website, inforegulator.org.za.

Contact us about your information

Information Officer: Nadia Pienaar
Email: roodepoort@npoptom.co.za
Telephone: 011 679 1077

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version is always on this page.

Last updated: November 2026.