Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Hospital Santa Casa de Martinópolis, registered under CNPJ number 52.268.596/0001-09, with its registered office at Rua José Henrique de Melo, 236, Centro, Martinópolis, State of São Paulo, postal code 19500-037, Brazil, is the controller of the personal data processed on this website and through its service channels, under Brazilian Law number 13.709/2018, the General Personal Data Protection Law (LGPD).

This policy explains which data we process, why we process it, with whom we share it and what your rights are.

2. Data Protection Officer

The Data Protection Officer is the person responsible for receiving communications from data subjects and from the Brazilian National Data Protection Authority (ANPD).

Data Protection Officer: Elidamar Batista.

To reach the Officer, file a request through the Ombudsman channel on this website, choosing the Request type and stating in the report that the matter concerns data protection. You may also reach her by telephone on +55 18 3275-1000 or by letter sent to the hospital address, for the attention of the Data Protection Officer.

Use that channel to exercise any of the rights described in section 8, to ask questions about this policy or to report a privacy problem.

3. Data we process, by channel

We process only what is necessary for each purpose. None of the channels below requires you to create an account.

3.1 Browsing the website

The following is stored in your own browser, not on our servers:

1) the language you have chosen;

2) your theme preference, light or dark;

3) your decision about cookies.

Our servers keep technical access logs, such as IP address and browser data, used for security and to investigate incidents.

We do not use audience analytics, advertising or tracking tools. Details are in the Cookie Policy.

3.2 Ombudsman

A report may be filed anonymously or with identification, and the choice is yours.

If you choose to file anonymously, we do not ask for your name, e-mail address or telephone number, and we have no way of knowing who you are. The only way to follow the case will be the reference number and the access code we give you at the end of the process.

If you choose to identify yourself, name, e-mail address and telephone number become mandatory. This rule exists because an identified report with no means of contact is indistinguishable from an anonymous one, and would leave us unable to reply to you.

In either case you may describe the department the report concerns, write the report itself and attach files. The report may contain information about your health, or someone else's, depending on what you write, and we treat that content with the reinforced protection the law requires for sensitive data.

3.3 WhatsApp service channel

When you write to our WhatsApp channel, we process your telephone number, your profile name and the content of the messages exchanged.

What you write may contain health data, which is why this channel receives the strictest controls in our system: the telephone number is stored encrypted, and every time a member of staff opens a conversation the access is logged, recording who opened it, when and from which network address.

3.4 Transparency portal

Consulting documents is anonymous. We do not require registration, identification or justification, because the Brazilian Access to Information Law, Law number 12.527/2011, forbids such a requirement.

4. Why we process each type of data, and on which legal basis

1) To provide health care and to follow up on what you contact us about: article 11, item II, point f, of the LGPD, protection of health in a procedure carried out by health professionals.

2) To receive, investigate and answer ombudsman reports: article 7, item II, and article 11, item II, point a, compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation.

3) To keep records and medical records for the required period: article 7, item II, and article 11, item II, point a, legal obligation.

4) To publish documents on the transparency portal: article 7, item II, legal obligation arising from Law number 12.527/2011.

5) To keep our systems secure and to investigate incidents: article 7, item IX, legitimate interest.

6) To store your language preference, your theme preference and your decision about cookies: article 7, item IX, legitimate interest in the operation of the website.

One clarification about consent, which is not a technical detail. The processing of your health data in the course of care is not based on consent, but on the protection of health. This means that such processing cannot be withdrawn while the care relationship exists, in the same way that the hospital's duty to keep your medical record cannot be withdrawn. Saying otherwise would be promising a right we could not deliver.

5. Who we share data with

We do not sell personal data and we do not transfer it for commercial or advertising purposes.

We share data only with those who are necessary for the service to work:

1) Meta Platforms, which operates the official WhatsApp Business platform that carries the messages of our service channel and, for that purpose, receives the telephone number and the content of the messages.

2) Amazon Web Services, which stores the files sent and published, such as documents, attachments and images.

3) Supabase, which hosts the database holding the data described in this policy.

4) Public authorities, where there is a legal or regulatory obligation or a court order, and only to the extent required.

Our suppliers act as processors: they handle the data under our instructions and may not use it for their own purposes.

6. Where the data is stored, and international transfers

The database and the files you send us are stored on servers located in Brazil, in the São Paulo region.

The exception is the WhatsApp service channel. Meta operates global infrastructure and may process messages outside the country. That international transfer relies on the grounds set out in article 33 of the LGPD and on the contractual clauses agreed with the supplier.

If we ever adopt a service that stores data outside Brazil, we will update this policy beforehand.

7. How long we keep data

1) Medical records and the documents that make them up: at least 20 years from the last entry, under Resolution number 1.821/2007 of the Federal Council of Medicine.

2) Ombudsman reports: for as long as needed to investigate and reply and, after that, for the applicable document retention period.

3) WhatsApp conversations that do not form part of a medical record: 2 years from the last message, a period that covers the investigation of complaints about the service itself without keeping health reports stored indefinitely.

4) Access and audit logs: for as long as needed for security and to demonstrate compliance.

5) Preferences stored in your browser: until you clear your browser data, or for up to 12 months in the case of your decision about cookies.

Statutory retention periods prevail over a request for erasure, as article 16, item I, of the LGPD provides.

8. Your rights

Article 18 of the LGPD grants you:

1) confirmation that we process your data, and access to it;

2) correction of incomplete, inaccurate or outdated data;

3) anonymisation, blocking or erasure of data that is unnecessary, excessive or processed in breach of the law;

4) portability to another supplier, upon express request;

5) erasure of data processed on the basis of your consent;

6) information about who we share your data with;

7) withdrawal of consent, where consent is the legal basis for the processing;

8) objection to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interest.

To exercise any of these, contact the Data Protection Officer through the channel indicated in section 2. We may ask for information confirming your identity, as a protective measure, so as not to hand your data to someone else. We reply as soon as possible and, for requests for confirmation and access, within 15 days, under article 19, item II.

There are limits, and we prefer to state them plainly: we cannot erase data the law requires us to keep, such as a medical record, nor stop processing that is necessary for your own care. In those cases we will explain the reason for the refusal.

9. Security

We adopt technical and administrative measures to protect your data, among them:

1) encryption of sensitive identifying data in our databases, such as the telephone number of anyone who writes to us on WhatsApp;

2) permission based access control, so that each member of staff reaches only what their work requires;

3) audit logging of every access to patient data, covering not only changes but also mere consultations;

4) network segmentation, so that internal systems are not reachable from the internet;

5) encrypted communication, over HTTPS, across the whole website.

No measure removes risk entirely. In the event of a security incident involving relevant risk, we will notify the ANPD and the affected data subjects, as set out in article 48 of the LGPD.

10. Children's and adolescents' data

Care provided to children and adolescents takes place in their best interest, as article 14 of the LGPD requires, with the participation of parents or legal guardians where applicable.

Our digital channels are not intended for direct use by unaccompanied minors. If we identify a child's data provided without proper support, we will contact those responsible or erase the record.

11. Cookies

The use of cookies and similar technologies is described in the Cookie Policy, which forms an integral part of this policy.

12. Changes to this policy

We may change this policy to reflect changes in our services or in legislation.

Every version is numbered and dated, and previous versions remain available in the version history on this page. Where a change affects your rights, we will highlight the notice.

13. Contact

Hospital Santa Casa de Martinópolis

Rua José Henrique de Melo, 236, Centro, Martinópolis, State of São Paulo, postal code 19500-037, Brazil

Telephone: +55 18 3275-1000

Data Protection Officer: Elidamar Batista, through the Ombudsman channel on this website

You may also lodge a complaint with the Brazilian National Data Protection Authority, at gov.br/anpd.

14. Language of this document

This English text is a courtesy translation. The Portuguese version is the legally binding one and prevails in the event of any divergence between the two texts.