Trust is a structure, not a promise.
A healthcare platform asks people to rely on strangers with things that matter. These are the controls that make that reliance reasonable — and the limits we will not paper over.
Six controls
Professional verification
Identity, qualifications and registration are submitted and reviewed before a profile becomes visible to patients.
OnboardingRegistration monitoring
A professional whose registration is not current is blocked from appearing as available.
Provider standardsPatient verification for home visits
Home visits require a verified patient profile, protecting the professional who travels to a private address.
Home visitsFunds held until delivery
Payment for a home visit is held and released only when both sides confirm the visit took place.
Informed consent to telehealth
Patients acknowledge the limitations of remote care before a consultation begins.
Reviews from real consultations
Only patients who completed a consultation can rate it, which keeps ratings meaningful.
Health data is not ordinary data.
Under POPIA, health information is special personal information and carries a higher standard of protection. Penalties for mishandling it are severe, and rightly so.
- Encryption in transit and at rest
- Role-based access, so people see only what their role requires
- Access to records is logged and auditable
- Video consultations are not recorded by default
- Deleted accounts are retained as required by law, not simply erased
- Professionals accept a data processing agreement before they can consult
Never on this website
Personal and health information belongs in the secure app — never in a public website form.
Never by email
DropDr will not ask for your password, medical records or payment details by email.
Never shared for marketing
Health information is not sold, rented or shared for advertising.
Only with permission
Records are shared with a professional when you grant access, and you can withdraw it.
Shared responsibility
A platform can build safeguards. It cannot substitute for good judgement on either side of a consultation.
Patients
- Give accurate information — a clinical decision is only as good as what it is based on
- Protect your account and do not share access
- Ask when something is unclear
- Seek emergency help directly when it is needed
Professionals
- Practise within registration, competence and scope
- Be honest about the limits of remote assessment
- Handle patient information lawfully
- Honour the availability you publish
DropDr
- Verify before listing, and keep checking
- Secure the platform and the information on it
- Keep the commercial model free of clinical influence
- Be clear about what the platform is not
Limits we state plainly
Not an emergency service
No ambulance can be dispatched and no immediate response is guaranteed.
Emergency informationNot a medical scheme
DropDr provides access to services. It is not insurance and provides no cover.
Not a healthcare provider
Care is provided by independent professionals. DropDr connects, it does not treat.
Company informationNot medical advice
Information on this website supports navigation. It is not a diagnosis.
Medical disclaimerWhere to take a problem.
Different concerns have different proper forums. Sending one to the wrong place costs you time.
About the platform
Contact DropDr — availability, payments, bookings, account problems or a professional's conduct on the platform.
About clinical care
The professional's registering body. The HPCSA governs doctors and many allied professions; SANC governs nurses. DropDr does not adjudicate clinical practice.
About medicine or dispensing
The pharmacy concerned, and the South African Pharmacy Council.
About your personal information
The DropDr Information Officer, and then the Information Regulator if you are not satisfied.