POLICIES & TRUST

Record handling & sharing

Patient information, school feedback, retention and portable exports.

Launch draft · Updated 3 October 2026. These pages describe the current product and proposed operating policies. The operator’s legal identity, registered address, Information Officer, service agreements, retention periods and provider arrangements still require confirmation and legal review. They are not a certification of POPIA compliance or a substitute for a signed agreement.

Clinical and school information

The practice is responsible for defining its record-keeping, consent and confidentiality procedures. School or guardian details in a profile do not establish permission to release a counseling record. Confirm the applicable authority for each disclosure and consider the rights and interests of the person concerned.

Use selected-session feedback to include only relevant material. Review notes, summaries and recommendations before exporting. A full history is not automatically appropriate for every recipient.

Retention and correction

Set a documented retention schedule based on applicable professional, clinical, financial and legal obligations. CounselR currently does not automatically expire records. Do not treat a deletion button as permission to destroy records you are required to retain.

Use the appropriate correction process and keep a defensible history. Payment voids record a reason instead of silently removing a payment. Linked records may prevent deletion of a patient until the associated history is dealt with lawfully.

Exports, backups and ending access

PDF and Word feedback files, invoice PDFs and owner-downloaded JSON backups can contain confidential information. Keep them access-controlled, label them appropriately and share through a method your practice has approved. Do not send a whole-practice backup as ordinary feedback.

The current backup restore adds missing records and does not overwrite matching existing records. Review an archive before importing. Exports are not automatic scheduled backups; maintain your own tested recovery arrangements.

Before ending use, agree on a lawful export, retention and deletion process with the practice and CounselR. Full account closure and deletion across provider backup systems are not self-service guarantees in this release.

Questions? Contact support@counselr.co.za.