Frequently Asked Questions

How do I earn CEU’s on ?

works on the principle of self-study. You first have to study a recommended source document, and then complete the assessment questionnaire on the same source on our website. You can claim the CEU’s once you have successfully completed the assessment. A unique numbered CPD certificate will be issued in your name for each successfully completed assessment.

Recommended sources are all listed under the various discipline-based categories in the CPD Activities section on .

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How can I earn CEU’s on if I do not find any CPD activity of my liking on ?

If you do not find a suitable activity in one of the categories on , you can find your own source(s) on the Internet and may still certify your learning. You will find suggested websites in the Suggest a New Source section on . You can also try any of the medical/dental journal websites on the website www.FreeMedicalJournals.com for suitable source documents.

You can deposit the title and link of a suggested article in the "Suggest a New Source" section on . The editorial team will evaluate your suggested source, and if approved, develop an electronic CPD activity for you. You can then claim a CEU once you have successfully completed the assessment on your suggested source.

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Will the Health Professions Council of South Africa accept my CPD points earned on ?

Absolutely yes! is fully accredited with the HPCSA. Read more in "Accreditation".

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How can I earn CEU’s in Professional Ethics on ?

eCPD maintains a special section on Professional Ethics. This section is appropriate for all health professions. You can complete any of the activities in that section to earn CEU's in Ethics. Your CPD certificate will clearly state that the activity was in Professional Ethics.

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Why do I have to pay to claim CEU’s on ?

All learning on is free and only makes use of free sources on the Internet. However, you have to pay a small service fee for the certification service provided by . The income from these fees is used to pay for the expenses of developing and maintaining the website and its content.

Some individuals, however, enjoy free CEU's on , which means that a third party is paying the service fees on their behalf. Talk to the representatives of major suppliers to your profession for possible sponsorship of your service fees on .

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How can I pay for the CPD service of ?

offers three kinds of payment options:

1. Credit card payment on the Internet
2. Direct deposit in the bank account
3. Payment by cheque

Full information is provided in the "Make a Payment" section on .

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I tried a credit card payment on but for some reason the transaction was not successful. What must I do?

First of all we would like to solve the problem, so please provide full details of what happened by e-mail from our feedback page or phone Tel RSA: 0861 000 381 or Tel International: +27 21 914 5100. We would like to assist you to make a successful payment.

The most common reasons for failed credit transactions are:

1. The version of your web browser is too old - it must be at least version 5 or higher. To check your version, click the "Help" menu and choose "About". We recommend the use of Microsoft Internet Explorer. To download the latest version, click through to Microsoft's web site.
2. Typing errors or incorrect information - check your information before it is finally submitted.
3. Connection problems - due to the way the Internet is assembled, communication between certain points could be interrupted. In these cases, its best to try again later, or at a time when local traffic levels are low - usually this means early in the morning.
4. Your bank does not approve the transaction - in this case you need to contact your bank, as there may be a problem with your credit card, account or credit limit.
5. The bank's server is temporarily down - usually this does not take longer than a few hours - so try again the next day.

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Are my expenses on deductible for Income Tax purposes?

As CPD is obligatory to maintain your registration with the HPCSA, all expenses on may be deductible from your taxable income. This also applies to your telephone and internet connection costs. Keep the tax invoices that were sent to you by e-mail, for record purposes. Talk to your tax consultant about claiming your expenses on CPD from your taxable income.

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How many CEU’s do I need?

From January 2006, all practitioners registered with the HCPSA need to obtain 30 CEU's per annum. CEU's will remain valid for a period of 2 years. The requirement is for practitioners to maintain a valid CEU level of 60 units at all times.

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How many Ethics CEU’s do I need?

The requirement has been set to 5 Ethics CEU's per annum for all professions, except for Psychology that is required to obtained 6 Ethical CEU's.

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How many points do I need in my specialty if I am a registered specialist?

Specialists have to do the same number of CEU's as all the other practitioners. There is as yet no obligation for registered medical and dental specialists to earn points only in their field of specialty. They can earn points in any accredited CPD activity, although it naturally makes sense for them to primarily obtain points in their speciality.

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Is there any limit on the number of points that may be earned per CPD category?

CPD activities are categorised into three levels of learning activities (according to the measurability of outcome) and are linked to a certain CEU value or weight. Practitioners may obtain all 30 annually required CEU's from any level of activity, depending on their personal circumstances and individual learning needs.

• Level 1: Activities without a clearly measurable outcome and presented once only, e.g. conferences, CPD meetings, etc.
• Level 2: Education, Training, Research and Publications, e.g. authoring articles, MCQ’s in journals (paper and electronic), etc.
• Level 3: Structured learning, e.g. postgraduate degrees and diplomas, short courses with a formal assessment at the end, etc.

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How can I keep track of my required CEU’s?

The easiest way is to make use of the unique "Online CPD Manager" available on the ecpd website. All your CEU's earned on will be recorded automatically. However, you need to manually enter all your CEU's earned elsewhere if you want our CPD Manager to reflect your total CEU portfolio. Your CEU's earned on are summarised on a portfolio form, which can be printed for record purposes. You can also print a completed HPCSA submissions form (Individual Activity Record).

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When do I have to submit my CPD points portfolio to the HPCSA?

Practitioners will be required to submit their full CPD portfolio of the preceding 3 years to the HPCSA if their names are drawn in a random audit by the HPCSA, which will be conducted twice annually. Practitioners will be requested to provide proof of compliance with the CPD system within 21 working days.

Certificates issued by providers as proof of attendance/participation have to be attached to your CPD portfolio form. On receipt of the CPD portfolio from individual practitioners, the HPCSA will analyse the contents and record the points achieved. We strongly suggest that you make a copy of all your certificates AND the completed CPD portfolio form before submission, in case they get lost in the post. Send your CPD portfolio per registered post.

Please note: There will no longer be any electronic submission of CEU's to the HPCSA from any CPD provider on your behalf. You have to obtain a CPD certificate for every attendance of CPD activities. CPD certificates for activities completed on can be viewed and printed on the website, found at the "certificates" tab in the upper right hand corner on our web page, left next to the search block.

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What can happen if I do not comply with the requirements of the CPD system?

The following actions may be taken by the HPCSA:

• A letter will be sent to the non-compliant practitioner requesting a reason for the non-compliance. A practitioner will be required to furnish the CPD Department with a letter of explanation within two weeks of receipt of the letter of enquiry from the CPD Department.
• Should the explanation be acceptable, the practitioner will be given six months to comply with the CPD requirements. Evidence of such compliance must be received by the CPD Department within two weeks of the end of the six months period.
• Should the practitioner not comply with the requirement his/her name will be forwarded without delay to the Committee of Preliminary Enquiry. The Committee of Preliminary Enquiry may decide on the basis of evidence, to grant a final additional 6 month period to comply with the CPD requirements.

1. Registration in a category that will provide for supervision as considered appropriate by the relevant Professional Board;
2. A remedial programme of continuing education and training as specified by the Professional Board;
3. An examination as determined by the Professional Board;
4. Suspension from practice for a period of time as determined by the Professional Board; or
5. Any other action as recommended by the Professional Board.

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I am busy with my community service year. Do I have to comply with the CPD system?

Practitioners in internship and community service are not required to comply with CPD during the internship and Community Service years but are encouraged to attend and may accrue CEUs which will be to their credit for 2 years.

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I am living abroad. How can I maintain my registration with the HPCSA?

All practitioners living abroad who wish to remain on the HPCSA register have to comply fully with the CPD system - no deferment will be granted. The easiest way is simply to earn most of your CEU's through the website!

Practitioners who are practising abroad in countries where a continuing professional development system is in place should comply with the requirements in that country. They should retain documentary proof of attendance at CPD activities for submission in the event of being drawn in the sample audit. For re-registration purposes documentary proof of compliance must be submitted for continuing professional development purposes in South Africa. This may be in the form of a letter from the accrediting authority in the country concerned.

When practitioners who are actively practising in South Africa attend an accredited professional or academic meeting or activity abroad it will be recognised for CPD purposes. This activity should be reflected in the Individual CPD Activity Record of the practitioner.

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Deferment for full-time students in Family Medicine, Registrars and Senior Registrars

Full-time students in Family Medicine, Registrars and Senior Registrars will automatically be awarded the required CEU’s for each year of:

1. such full-time study;
2. registration with the HPCSA as a Registrar or Senior Registrar.

Persons in these categories must provide documentary proof of such study to the HPCSA on an annual basis.

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Difficulties experienced with: login or to registration on

If you suddenly experience problems trying to login or register as a new user on , it is more than often due to a result of advancing technology, which requires better security measures. The latest software, which we use on the website server, requires certain settings to be activated on your internet browser.

Please try the following on your browser (we refer specifically to Internet Explorer):

1. Go to "Tools/Internet Options/General/Temporary Internet Files" and click on "Delete Files" - this will delete all the old temporary Internet files on your browser and ensure that you will view only the latest pages of our website.
2. Now click on "Settings" and under "Check for newer versions of stored pages" select "Every time you start Internet Explorer"
3. Please ensure that your browser is set to allow "cookies"

If these simple measures do not solve your problems, please inform our client services unit on the exact nature of your problem as well as the type and version of browser you are using (see version number under "Help/About Internet Explorer"). Contact us by e-mail at support@ecpd.co.za or phone Tel RSA: 0861 000 381 or Tel International: +27 21 914 5100.

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Can I make use of the same e-mail address as my partner or co-workers to register on ?

No, unfortunately not. The system is designed for an e-mail address to serve as the unique user-identification and as such the same e-mail address cannot be utilised by more than one user to the system.

It is fairly simple to have your own unique e-mail address, even without a separate e-mail account. We suggest that the following guideline be considered on obtaining an e-mail address:

1. Internet connection at home:
   1. Via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with one e-mail address: Request your ISP for issuing of additional e-mail address (certain suppliers supply up to 5 additional addresses, free of charge or at a low cost) this could be cumbersome as ALL e-mails are being forwarded to the primary account holder.
   2. Free e-mail providers are available on the market: (E.g. Yahoo, Hotmail, Ananzi and many more.) The prospective users of a service need to research the availability in their relevant geographical area. E-mails in this case are read directly from the particular website, but the e-mails are absolutely private and can be accessed from around the globe.
2. Internet connection at work via employer intranet network:
   1. Negotiate with employer for a personal e-mail address to be utilised for the training of the individual. Over and above the legislative prescript for CPD, this capacity building effort is after-all also to the advantage of the employer.
   2. Unsuccessful negotiation with employer: Refer to option 1 above.

If these simple measures do not solve your problems, please inform our client services unit on the exact nature of your problem as well as the type and version of browser you are using (see version number under "Help/About Internet Explorer"). Contact us by e-mail at support@ecpd.co.za or phone Tel RSA: 0861 000 381 or Tel International: +27 21 914 5100.

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Difficulty in downloading source documents on

The system makes use of free source documents on the Internet in order to keep costs down to a minimum. However, has no control over such source documents, as they are the sole property of the source website, and it may happen that source documents are moved to a different website address, removed from the internet or may only become accessible after payment. Please inform us if you encounter any difficulties accessing source documents at support@ecpd.co.za or phone Tel RSA: 0861 000 381 or Tel International: +27 21 914 5100.

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How do I know about new activities on the website and what is the latest news regarding ?

Newsletters are distributed monthly to all users of the website, if they so desire. These include an newsletter indicating the addition of new activities on the website, summaries of CEU's portfolio as well as special messages to certain groups of users. Health news and affiliate news are also distributed as and when available.

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How can I change my personal particulars and/or e-mail address on the system?

On the website advance to the top right hand side menu bar and click on "My Details", which appears right under your name. Any changes you require can be rectified from here.

If this does not solve your problems, please inform our client services unit by e-mail at support@ecpd.co.za or Tel RSA: 0861 000 381 or Tel International: +27 21 914 5100.

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What to do: my account is disabled

There are several reasons why your account could be disabled (you will get a definite message when you try to login), the commonest being:

1. Your e-mail was returned to as "non-deliverable"
2. You may have registered twice on , using different e-mail accounts.

If you encounter a "disabled account" problem, follow the following procedure:

1. Contact your e-mail account provider and ensure that your mailbox is not overloaded or full.
2. Ensure that your email account is still active.
3. Contact us so that we can enable your account at support@ecpd.co.za or phone Tel RSA: 0861 000 381 or Tel International: +27 21 914 5100.

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I cannot read the regular newsletter

If you cannot read the newsletter please click on the links below to view recent newsletters.

Visit our newsletter archive:

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How does the HPCSA compliance auditing work?

The HPCSA is endeavouring to ensure that all registered practitioners are following the requirements for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and have embarked on an audit to ascertain compliance.

CEU's obtained from 24 months before the date of audit will be credited to the practitioner's form. The number of CEU's to be collected per year is 30 across all professions. These will be valid for two years from the date of accrual and will lapse after 24 months. After two years, a total of 60 must be maintained at all times, as practitioners have to replace CEU's before they lapse.

Practitioners may opt to obtain all units in one level or a number of them across different levels. Practitioners must retain portfolios for submission to the HPCSA when names are drawn in the random sample audit.

As published in the "Newsletter for the Medical and Dental Professions Board". September/October 2007

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How does the credit system work on ?

Practitioners and students can use freely to improve their professional knowledge and skills. A small service fee is only payable for the registration of CEU's and the issuing of CPD certificates.

Users need credits in their account to be able to earn CEU's on . Credits can be purchased here.

All credits purchased on expire exactly 2 (two) years from the Date of Purchase, should the credit not be converted to a CEU before the time. All Credits purchased before or on 17-04-2009 will have 17-04-2009 as the Date of Purchase. All credits purchased after 17-04-2009 will have the actual date of purchase.