Casia

Guide · South Africa

How to start a private nursing practice.

Begin with professional scope and a clear service model. Casia can then help coordinate selected business-registration, practice-number and banking setup while you prepare the practice workflow.

Operational review by Ayanda Diya, Head of Sales and Operations ·

Short answer

Start with permission and purpose—not paperwork alone.

SANC's published guidance says its regulations do not prohibit a nurse from setting up in private practice, provided the nurse practises within scope and does not contravene applicable professional rules. Your first task is therefore to confirm your own registration position, scope and intended services using current official guidance.

A company registration or practice number does not expand professional scope. Likewise, software can organise records and billing but cannot decide which services you may clinically provide.

Planning checklist

Eight workstreams for a safer start.

Use this as an orientation map—not a self-service application guide. We can explain what Care Start-up coordinates and what remains a professional, regulator, funder or adviser decision.

  1. 01

    Confirm professional readiness

    Make sure your professional position, competence and intended services align. Casia can organise administration, but professional scope remains the practitioner’s responsibility.

  2. 02

    Define the service and setting

    Write down what you will offer, to whom, where and with which referral or escalation pathways. Do not let a billing code define your clinical scope.

  3. 03

    Choose a business structure

    Consider whether you will operate in your own name or through an entity. Legal, tax, ownership and operating factors affect the choice, so obtain advice for your circumstances.

  4. 04

    Coordinate the supported setup

    Care Start-up can assist with business registration, a practice-number application and business banking setup. External approvals and decisions remain with the relevant organisations.

  5. 05

    Understand the tax position

    The structure and activities of the practice affect its tax profile and records. Use qualified advice where needed; Casia’s support does not replace tax advice.

  6. 06

    Set up banking and bookkeeping

    Separate practice transactions clearly, decide how invoices and receipts will be issued, and create a process for expenses, reconciliations and tax records.

  7. 07

    Design privacy and record controls

    Map what patient information you collect, why it is needed, who can access it, how it is secured and how requests or incidents will be handled.

  8. 08

    Choose the billing workflow

    Decide whether patients pay directly, whether the practice submits medical aid claims, or whether both apply. Document deposits, payment terms and follow-up.

Prepare once, update deliberately

Build a controlled practice file.

Keep current evidence and operating documents grouped so Casia-supported setup, patient administration and later reviews do not depend on scattered messages.

  • Professional

    Current identity and professional-registration evidence, plus any service-specific evidence requested by the relevant official body.

  • Business

    Entity and address records, ownership or director information, banking evidence and tax-profile details appropriate to the structure.

  • Practice operations

    Service descriptions, patient notices and consent records, referral pathways, invoices, record templates and access responsibilities.

  • Billing and claims

    Practice and provider details, current scheme instructions, coding references and a documented process for responses and reconciliation.

Where Casia fits

Connect setup to the way the practice will run.

Care Start-up assists with selected setup work. Care Nurse supports one practitioner without medical aid claim submission; Nurse Plus adds claims; Practitioner is for multi-practitioner practices.

Official perspectives

Understand why the work matters.

These articles provide useful professional, business and administrative context. Where included in Care Start-up, Casia coordinates the supported setup work so you do not have to use these articles as application instructions.

Talk through your next step

Need help organising the setup?

Tell us where you are in the process. We can explain the boundaries of Care Start-up and the practice software options that follow.

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