Terms and conditions

What these terms cover

These are the terms on which PractoSA provides its AI receptionist and patient messaging service to medical practices in South Africa. By creating a practice account, or by using the service, the practice agrees to them.

They apply together with the privacy notice, which explains how we handle personal information.

The service

PractoSA answers the practice's phone calls, handles patient messages, books appointments and, where the practice switches those features on, sends reminders and raises invoices. Which features are on is the practice's choice and can be changed by the practice at any time.

The AI receptionist tells every caller that it is an AI and that the call is recorded. The practice may not ask us to remove that disclosure.

Some parts of the service depend on third parties the practice connects, such as WhatsApp, an SMS provider or a practice management system. Those providers have their own terms, and we cannot control their availability.

The pilot

During the founding pilot the service is provided to a small number of practices while it is being completed. Some features have not yet run with a live third-party provider, and the practice will be told which before it relies on them.

Pilot practices are invoiced monthly at the pilot rate agreed in writing with the practice, and move to the published price list when it is published. Setup and number forwarding are free during the pilot.

Accounts

The practice is responsible for the people it gives accounts to and for what they do with them. Each person must use their own login. The practice must tell us promptly if a login is lost or misused.

Patient information

The practice is the responsible party for its patients' personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act. PractoSA is the operator and processes that information only on the practice's instructions and only to provide the service.

The practice is responsible for having the patient's consent to contact them, and for its own retention settings. PractoSA records consent and opt-outs and honours them on every channel.

Patient information is stored on servers in South Africa. The voice AI runs on servers we operate, and call audio is not sent to a third-party AI service. Details are in the privacy notice.

What the practice may not do

Use the service to contact people who have not consented or who have opted out, to send anything unlawful, or to interfere with the service or another practice's use of it.

Resell the service, or use it for a purpose other than running the practice.

Availability

We work to keep the service available at all times, and we will tell the practice about planned maintenance in advance. We do not yet publish an uptime guarantee, because we do not yet have the measurement to back one. When we do, it will be added here.

If the phone cannot be answered by PractoSA for any reason, calls follow the forwarding rules the practice has set up with its phone provider.

Fees

Fees are invoiced monthly in South African rand, excluding VAT, and are due within 14 days of the invoice. Payment processing fees charged by a payment provider are passed on at cost; PractoSA adds no percentage to patient payments.

If an invoice is not paid after a written reminder, we may suspend the service until it is.

Ending the agreement

The practice may stop using the service at any time by telling us in writing. We may end the agreement with 30 days' written notice, or immediately if the practice breaks these terms in a way that cannot be fixed.

After the agreement ends, the practice may export its records for 30 days. After that, we delete the practice's data, except where the law requires us to keep it.

Responsibility

PractoSA is a tool that helps a practice run its front desk. It does not give medical advice and it does not replace the practice's own clinical judgement or its duty to its patients. Emergency calls are routed to a person and to the emergency number, but the practice remains responsible for its emergency procedures.

To the extent the law allows, our liability to the practice in any year is limited to the fees the practice paid us in that year. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Changes

We may change these terms. We will tell the practice by email at least 30 days before a change takes effect, unless the change is required by law.

Law and contact

These terms are governed by the law of South Africa. Questions go to hello@precto.app.

These terms will be reviewed by a lawyer before PractoSA is generally available. If anything here is unclear, email us and we will explain it.