Patient Confidentiality

Last updated: May 27, 2026

1. The duty of confidentiality

Every member of the Hummingbirds for Homme clinical and administrative team operates under a strict duty of confidentiality. This duty is rooted in:

• The Medical Act of 1959 (RA 2382) and the Code of Ethics of the Philippine Medical Association, which establish the physician–patient privilege.
• The Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173), which classifies medical and sexual health information as sensitive personal information requiring the highest level of protection.
• The Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act (RA 9995) and the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175), which make the unauthorized capture, storage, or distribution of intimate images criminal — penalties that apply in addition to any professional or civil sanction.

2. What this means in practice

We will not:

• Discuss any patient's case — by name, photo, or identifying detail — with anyone outside the care team.
• Capture, store, or share intimate images or video without your specific written consent for a specific clinical purpose.
• Use any patient information for marketing, social media content, or testimonials without your explicit, separately given, and revocable written permission.
• Confirm or deny that any specific person is one of our patients, even to a family member or partner, unless you have given us prior written authorization to do so.

We will:

• Hold your records in encrypted clinical systems with role-based access.
• Conduct consultations in private rooms designed so that conversations cannot be overheard.
• Schedule appointments to minimize overlap with other patients in shared spaces.
• Use plain, neutral language in any reminder messages or follow-ups — without revealing the nature of your visit.
• Discuss your care only with members of the care team who have a clinical reason to know.

3. When confidentiality has limits

Under Philippine law, confidentiality may be lifted only in narrow circumstances:

• With your written consent — for example, when you ask us to send a copy of your record to another clinician.
• By a lawful court order or regulatory request — we will inform you whenever this happens, unless prohibited by the order itself.
• Mandatory reporting — certain communicable diseases must be reported to public-health authorities in anonymized or de-identified form, as required by law.
• Imminent serious risk — where there is an imminent and serious risk of harm to you or another identifiable person, the duty to warn may override confidentiality. This is rare and we would discuss it with you first wherever possible.

4. Photography, video, and clinical documentation

We do not photograph intimate areas as standard practice. Where clinical documentation of a lesion or condition is genuinely useful for treatment planning — for example, monitoring the progression of a wart course — we request your specific written consent on a per-instance basis. Such images are stored in encrypted clinical systems, accessible only to the treating clinician, and are deleted on your request.

We will never use clinical photographs for marketing, training, social media, or any purpose outside your individual treatment plan without separate, fully informed, written consent — which you can revoke at any time.

5. If you bring a partner to your consultation

You decide who is in the room. If you would like a partner, family member, or friend present, that is your right. If you would prefer to be seen alone, that is equally your right — and we will quietly facilitate it.

6. Records access and amendment

You may request a copy of your medical record at any time, and you may request that inaccuracies be corrected. See our Privacy Notice for the full process.

7. Discreet communication

If you prefer to be contacted only on certain channels (for example, WhatsApp only, no phone calls; or no SMS reminders), please tell us at the time of booking. We will honor that preference for all future communications.

Contact

This statement is read in conjunction with our Privacy Notice and Terms of Service.