Traditional Health Practitioners Act, 2007 (Act No. 22 of 2007)Chapter 5 : General and Supplementary Provisions42. Fees charged by registered persons |
| (1) | Every person registered under this Act must before rendering any traditional health services inform the person to whom the services are to be rendered or any person responsible for the maintenance of such person, of the fee which he or she intends to charge for such services. |
| (2) | Any traditional health practitioner who in respect of any traditional health services rendered by him or her claims payment from any person (in this section referred to as the patient), must, subject to the provisions of the Medical Schemes Act, 1998 (Act No. 131 of 1998), where applicable, furnish the patient with a detailed account within a reasonable period. |
| (3) |
| (a) | The patient may, within three months after receipt of the account contemplated in subsection (2), apply in writing to the Council for a determination of the amount which, in the opinion of the Council, should have been charged for the services to which the account relates. |
| (b) | The Council must, as soon as possible after receipt of the application, determine the said amount and notify the traditional health practitioner and the patient, in writing, of the amount so determined. |
| (c) | Before the Council determines an amount, it must afford the practitioner concerned an opportunity to submit to the Council, in writing, the relevant factors to be considered by the Council in support of the amount charged. |
| (4) | The Minister may, after consultation with the Council, prescribe the procedure which the Council must follow in disposing of an application under subsection (3). |
| (5) | The Council may, from time to time, determine and publish the fees used by the Council as the norm for the determination of amounts contemplated in subsection (3). |
| (6) |
| (a) | A claim for payment, which is the subject of an application contemplated in subsection (3) and of which notice has been given by the Council or the patient to the traditional health practitioner concerned, is not recoverable until a determination has been made in terms of subsection (3). |
| (b) | Only the amount so determined is payable and if the patient has paid to the traditional health practitioner concerned an amount exceeding the amount so determined, the traditional health practitioner must repay the patient the amount by which that payment exceeds the amount so determined. |
| (7) | This section does not divest the Council of any of its functions in terms of this Act with regard to acts or omissions in respect of which it may take disciplinary steps. |
| (8) | For the purposes of this section "fee" includes payment in kind. |