Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 20, 2026
Last Updated: June 25, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how International Clinic Osaka Shinsaibashi (the “Clinic,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal information in connection with our website, appointment booking, inquiries, medical services, and related services.

By using our website, contacting us, making an appointment, or receiving services from us, you acknowledge that your personal information will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to:

visitors to our website;
people who contact us by contact form, phone, email, WhatsApp, or other communication channels;
people who make appointments through our website or third-party booking systems;
patients who receive medical services at the Clinic;
patients who receive hotel doctor visits, where available; and
parents, guardians, companions, interpreters, or representatives who contact us on behalf of a patient.

2. Personal Information We Collect
We may collect the following categories of personal information.

2.1 Identity and Contact Information
name, including name as shown in a passport or other identification document;
date of birth;
nationality or country/region of residence;
email address;
phone number and country code;
preferred language;
preferred contact method;
passport or identification information, where necessary for medical documentation, identity confirmation, insurance documents, or administrative purposes.

2.2 Appointment and Inquiry Information
preferred appointment date and time;
reason for visit;
symptoms or concerns you choose to provide;
messages, inquiries, and communication history;
hotel name, room number, or location information if you request a hotel doctor visit;
cancellation, rescheduling, and no-show history where relevant to booking management.

2.3 Health and Medical Information
We may collect health and medical information that you provide or that is generated during your consultation, examination, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care, documentation, or referral.

This may include symptoms, medical history, medications, allergies, vital signs, examination findings, test results, diagnosis, treatment details, prescriptions, referral information, medical certificates, and other clinical records.

Health and medical information may be treated as sensitive personal information under applicable data protection laws.

2.4 Insurance and Reimbursement Information
If you request documents for travel insurance, private insurance, or reimbursement, we may collect information such as:

insurer name;
policy or claim information;
required document format;
diagnosis, treatment, itemized receipts, and other information required for insurance documentation.

2.5 Payment and Transaction Information
We may collect payment method, payment status, transaction date, amount charged, receipt details, and related accounting information.

If payment is processed by a third-party payment provider, we do not intentionally store full credit card numbers on our own systems.

2.6 Referral and Coordination Information
When clinically appropriate or requested by you, we may collect and share information necessary to coordinate care with pharmacies, laboratories, hospitals, specialists, interpreters, insurers, travel assistance companies, or other relevant parties.

2.7 Website, Cookie, and Technical Information
If enabled, our website may collect technical and usage information through cookies, analytics tools, embedded services, or similar technologies, such as IP address, device information, browser type, pages visited, referring pages, and usage patterns.

3. How We Use Personal Information
We use personal information for the following purposes:

to arrange, confirm, modify, or cancel appointments;
to respond to inquiries;
to provide medical consultation, diagnosis, treatment, prescriptions, and follow-up care;
to provide hotel doctor visits, where requested and available;
to prepare medical records;
to prepare medical certificates, referral letters, itemized receipts, insurance documents, and other requested documents;
to process payments and maintain accounting records;
to coordinate referrals, prescriptions, tests, or next-step care when clinically appropriate;
to communicate with patients, companions, guardians, interpreters, insurers, travel assistance companies, pharmacies, laboratories, hospitals, or specialists as needed;
to improve our services, website, booking process, and patient experience;
to maintain safety and security;
to prevent misuse, fraud, unpaid charges, or repeated no-shows;
to comply with applicable laws, regulations, professional obligations, and lawful requests from authorities;
to resolve disputes and enforce agreements or policies.

4. Sensitive Medical Information
Medical and health information is sensitive. Please do not send unnecessary medical details, images, identification documents, or highly sensitive information through general messaging channels unless we specifically request them or you decide that it is necessary.

For urgent, severe, or potentially life-threatening symptoms, please contact emergency services or visit an emergency medical facility rather than using website forms, email, or messaging apps.

5. How We Share Personal Information
We do not sell personal information.

We may share personal information in the following circumstances.

5.1 Service Providers
We may share personal information with service providers that support our operations, such as appointment booking systems, website hosting providers, IT vendors, communication tools, payment processors, accounting service providers, and document management providers.

These service providers are permitted to use personal information only as necessary to provide services to us and are expected to protect personal information through appropriate safeguards.

5.2 Appointment Booking Provider
We use third-party appointment booking services, such as SimplyBook.me, to manage appointments. When you make a booking through such services, your personal information may be processed by the booking provider in accordance with its privacy policy and our contractual arrangements with that provider.

5.3 Medical Partners and Care Coordination
We may share personal information with laboratories, pharmacies, hospitals, specialists, emergency services, or other medical providers when necessary or appropriate for your care, referral, prescription, testing, follow-up, or patient safety.

5.4 Interpreters and Translation Support
If you request multilingual assistance, we may share relevant information with professional interpreters, translation service providers, or translation tools to support communication.

Translation tools may involve processing by third-party providers. We will seek to limit the information shared to what is necessary.

5.5 Insurance and Assistance Companies
If you request insurance or reimbursement documents, or if you ask us to coordinate with an insurer or travel assistance company, we may share necessary information with those parties.

5.6 Legal, Regulatory, and Safety Reasons
We may share personal information when required or permitted by law, regulation, court order, governmental request, professional obligation, or where necessary to protect the life, body, health, property, or safety of patients, staff, or others.

6. Communications by Phone, Email, WhatsApp, and Other Channels
If you contact us by phone, email, WhatsApp, or another communication channel, we may use the same channel to respond to you and coordinate scheduling, logistics, payment, documentation, or follow-up.

Please note that ordinary email and messaging apps may not be suitable for sending highly sensitive medical information. If necessary, we may ask you to continue communication by phone, in person, through a secure form, or by another appropriate method.

By choosing to communicate with us through a particular channel, you acknowledge that the communication may be processed by the relevant service provider according to its own terms and privacy policy.

7. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including medical care, medical recordkeeping, legal compliance, accounting, tax, dispute resolution, safety, and operational management.

Medical records are retained for at least five years from the date of the patient’s last visit, as required under Japanese law.

Other records, such as accounting, payment, tax, booking, and communication records, may be retained for different periods as required or permitted by applicable laws and legitimate operational needs.

8. Cookies and Analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help the website function, improve usability, analyze website traffic, and understand how visitors use our website.

You may be able to disable or control cookies through your browser settings. However, some website functions may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

If we use third-party analytics, maps, embedded content, or similar services, those providers may collect information in accordance with their own privacy policies.

9. International Data Transfers
Some of our service providers may be located outside Japan, and your personal information may be processed or stored in countries or regions outside Japan.

For example, appointment booking providers, communication providers, payment providers, cloud service providers, or translation tools may process personal information outside Japan.

When we transfer or allow processing of personal information outside Japan, we take appropriate measures required by applicable law, such as confirming the provider’s data protection framework, entering into contractual data protection commitments, or providing necessary information and obtaining consent where required.

By using our services, contacting us, or making a booking, you acknowledge that your personal information may be processed outside Japan.

10. Security
We take reasonable administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, leakage, or disclosure.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Your Choices and Rights
Subject to applicable laws and exceptions, you may request:

disclosure of your retained personal data;
correction, addition, or deletion of inaccurate personal information;
suspension of use;
deletion;
suspension of third-party provision;
explanation of how your personal information is handled.

We may need to confirm your identity before responding to such requests. We may be unable to comply with a request where retention or use is required by law, medical recordkeeping obligations, patient safety, dispute resolution, or other legitimate grounds.

To make a request, please contact us using the contact information below.

12. Minors
If the patient is a minor, a parent or legal guardian should contact us and provide consent where required.

In urgent or medically necessary circumstances, we may provide care and handle personal information as permitted by applicable laws and medical ethics.

13. EU/UK Residents
If you are located in the European Union, European Economic Area, or the United Kingdom when using our online services, additional data protection rules may apply.

Where applicable, you may have additional rights regarding your personal data, such as the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, object to processing, and request data portability.

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information below.

14. Contact Us
If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information, please contact:

International Clinic Osaka Shinsaibashi

Address: 1-13-25, Nishi Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan

Email: c.icos@international-clinic-osaka.com

Phone: +81 6-6484-6392

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last Updated” date at the top indicates when the latest changes were made.

The revised Privacy Policy will apply from the date it is posted on our website, unless otherwise stated.