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Doctors may 'be erased soon'
16/05/2007 13:57 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Medical practitioners will not have a lengthy grace period to pay their annual fees this year, the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) said on Wednesday.
Council registrar Boyce Mkhize said practitioners were given six months' grace last year, and their names were only erased from the roll in October, and not April as they should be.
The deadline for payment is April 1 every year.
With annual fee reminders having been dispatched, "practitioners can expect to be erased soon".
Dentists, doctors, psychologists and optometrists are the highest paying practitioners, paying about R800 annually.
Anaesthetic assistants, assistant clinical technologists are the lowest paying practitioners, at less than R200 annually.
Of the 123 000 practitioners registered with the HPCSA, nearly 9 000 of them are erased each year for not paying their fees.
'Encouraged to pay'
Mkhize said: "We have made a concerted effort to inform practitioners of their need to pay their dues. Unfortunately in spite of all our efforts, some practitioners would rather wait to be erased first before they pay."
Once a practitioner is erased, he or she will have to pay a penalty fee to be restored to the register.
Those who apply within six months after erasure will pay twice the fee for the current year, as well as the outstanding fees.
After six months but within 12 months of the erasure date, the amount rises to four times the annual fee, plus the outstanding fees.
The HPCSA has in the past taken steps to encourage practitioners to remain on the register.
These included a three month general amnesty earlier this year allowing practitioners back on the roll without paying any penalties.
- SAPA
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