Terms of service

The service

DermDesk provides clinical decision support to registered healthcare practitioners: a registered South African dermatologist reviews submitted skin cases and provides a clinical opinion. DermDesk is available to healthcare practices and their staff — it is not a consumer service and does not provide advice directly to patients.

Clinical responsibility

• Every response is authored by a registered dermatologist acting in a consulting capacity.
• The final clinical decision rests with the treating practitioner, who retains the therapeutic relationship with the patient.
• DermDesk does not replace an in-person consultation where one is clinically indicated, and must not be used for emergencies.
• AI analysis is internal decision support for the reviewing dermatologist only and is never delivered to the practitioner unreviewed.

Accounts

• One account per person. Shared logins are prohibited — every submission and view is recorded against the acting user.
• Clinician accounts require a valid HPCSA number; we may verify registration and suspend accounts that cannot be verified.
• You are responsible for safeguarding your credentials and for activity under your account.

Patient consent and information

• You confirm, for every case, that the patient has consented to the submission of their de-identified clinical information and photographs.
• You must not enter patient names, identity numbers, or contact details anywhere on the platform, including in free-text fields and file references.

Fees

The list price is R350 per case (incl. VAT where applicable), paid by card or instant EFT at submission via Payfast and billed to the practice. Practices may instead purchase prepaid case credits in bundles of 5 or 10 at the prices published on our pricing page; one credit is used per case at submission. The first 50 founding practices pay the founding rate published on the pricing page until six months after launch. A practice is offered the founding rate at registration while fewer than 50 founding practices have paid for a case or bundle, and holds its place once it has paid; credits bought at that rate keep their value after that date. A case fee or credit covers one dermatologist review and response.

Credits belong to the practice, may be used by any of its users, are not transferable between practices and are not redeemable for cash. Credits do not expire during the pilot; any later validity period will be published on the pricing page in advance and will not apply to credits already purchased. Fees are not refundable once a response has been delivered. Where a case cannot be reviewed, a credit is returned to the practice balance or a per-case fee is refunded in full.

Service levels

Our response target is 4 business hours from submission. This is a target, not a guarantee; urgent clinical situations should never wait for a DermDesk response.

Liability

To the extent permitted by law, DermDesk's liability is limited to the fees paid for the case giving rise to a claim. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under South African law.

Privacy

Processing of personal information is governed by our Privacy policy and POPIA notice.

Contact

hello@dermdesk.co.za