Privacy & Cookie Policy

Last updated: November 2026

1. Data Controller

This privacy notice has been prepared by Op. Dr. Hakki Hayrettin Izmirli Muayenehanesi (the “Practice”), acting as data controller under the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (“KVKK”) and related legislation, to inform our patients, prospective patients, their relatives and visitors to our website (each a “Data Subject”) about how their personal data is processed.

Address: Mesrutiyet Mah. Rumeli Cad. Birlik Apt. No:42 D:5, 34363 Sisli/Istanbul, Türkiye
Email: info@hakkiizmirli.com
Phone: +90 532 292 59 83

Our practice is registered with the Data Controllers’ Registry Information System (VERBIS). You can view our registration details in the “Registry Search” section at verbis.kvkk.gov.tr.

2. Personal Data We Process

• Identity data: Name, surname, Turkish ID number (passport number and nationality for foreign nationals), date of birth, gender.
• Contact data: Phone number, email address, postal address, and correspondence via WhatsApp and social media.
• Health data (special category): Your complaints and requests, medical history, examination, diagnosis and treatment information, test and laboratory results, surgery and discharge records, medications you use, allergies.
• Visual data: Photos you send for preliminary assessment, and pre- and post-operative photos taken during examination and treatment.
• Financial data: Payment and invoice details, deposit payment records.
• Travel and accommodation data (for international patients): Information needed to arrange flights, transfers, hotels and interpreters.
• Customer transaction data: Appointment records, requests and complaints, satisfaction feedback.
• Website usage data: IP address, browser and device information, cookie data, pages visited on the site.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

Your personal data is collected in person at the practice, by phone, WhatsApp, email, the contact channels on our website and our social media accounts; for international patients, also through the licensed health tourism intermediaries we work with; and by automated or non-automated means such as printed forms, our clinic management software and cookies.

4. Purposes of Processing

• Carrying out preliminary assessment, examination, medical diagnosis, treatment and care services;
• Surgical planning and coordination with the healthcare facility where the surgery will take place;
• Scheduling appointments and managing post-operative check-ups and follow-up;
• Arranging transfer, accommodation and interpreter services for international patients;
• Handling payments, invoicing and accounting;
• Fulfilling notification and reporting obligations to the Ministry of Health and other competent authorities under applicable law;
• Responding to your requests, questions and complaints, and measuring patient satisfaction;
• Establishing, exercising and defending rights in possible legal disputes;
• Operating, securing and improving our website;
• Carrying out promotional, informational and marketing activities, where you have given your explicit consent or approval.

5. Legal Grounds

Your general personal data is processed on the legal grounds set out in Article 5 of the KVKK: where it is expressly provided for by law, directly related to the conclusion or performance of a contract, necessary for the data controller to comply with a legal obligation, necessary for the establishment, exercise or protection of a right, and necessary for our legitimate interests, provided this does not harm your fundamental rights and freedoms.

Your health data is processed under Article 6(3) of the KVKK by persons under a duty of confidentiality for the purposes of protecting public health, preventive medicine, medical diagnosis, treatment and care services, and, where necessary, for the establishment, exercise or protection of a right.

The use of your pre- and post-operative photos for promotional purposes (website, social media, etc.), sending marketing messages, and the use of non-essential cookies take place only on the basis of your explicit consent. Your photos are never published without your explicit consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time.

6. Transfer of Personal Data

Limited to the purposes above and in accordance with the conditions in Articles 8 and 9 of the KVKK, your personal data may be shared with the following recipients:

• The private hospitals where your surgery takes place, and laboratories, imaging centres and healthcare facilities we work with as part of your treatment;
• The Ministry of Health and its units, and other competent public authorities;
• Courts and competent authorities, upon request;
• Lawyers, financial advisers and auditors bound by confidentiality;
• For international patients, the health tourism intermediaries we work with, and transfer, accommodation and interpreter service providers;
• The clinic management software, hosting, email and communication service providers we use to deliver our services;
• At your request, private insurance companies covering your healthcare costs.

Transfers Abroad

Your personal data may be transferred abroad for communication with and treatment arrangements for our international patients, and because the servers of services such as WhatsApp, email and our website infrastructure are located outside Türkiye. Such transfers are made in accordance with Article 9 of the KVKK, based on one of the conditions provided by law, such as appropriate safeguards (e.g. standard contracts), necessity for the performance of a contract in incidental cases, or your explicit consent.

7. Retention Period and Data Security

Your personal data is kept for the periods required by the relevant legislation; where no period is set, for as long as the purpose of processing requires and for the statutory limitation periods applicable to potential legal disputes. When these periods end, your data is deleted, destroyed or anonymised.

We take administrative and technical measures to protect your data, such as access authorisation, encryption, use of secure software and staff confidentiality obligations.

8. Your Rights Under the KVKK

Under Article 11 of the KVKK, you have the right to:

• Learn whether your personal data is being processed;
• Request information if it has been processed;
• Learn the purpose of processing and whether it is used in line with that purpose;
• Know the third parties, in Türkiye or abroad, to whom it has been transferred;
• Request correction if it is incomplete or inaccurate;
• Request its deletion or destruction under the conditions in Article 7 of the KVKK;
• Request that the correction, deletion or destruction be notified to third parties to whom the data has been transferred;
• Object to a result against you arising from analysis exclusively by automated systems;
• Claim compensation if you suffer damage due to unlawful processing.

9. How to Apply

You can submit requests regarding your rights, in line with the Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles of Application to the Data Controller, in the following ways:

• In writing: A signed (wet-ink) letter together with your identity document, delivered in person or through a notary to “Mesrutiyet Mah. Rumeli Cad. Birlik Apt. No:42 D:5, 34363 Sisli/Istanbul, Türkiye”. Please write “Application under KVKK” on the envelope.
• Electronically: From your registered electronic mail (KEP) address, with a secure electronic signature or mobile signature, or from the email address you previously gave us and which is registered in our system, to info@hakkiizmirli.com. Please write “Application under KVKK” in the subject line.

Your application should include your name and surname, signature (for written applications), Turkish ID number (nationality and passport number for foreign nationals), address for notification, email and phone number if available, and the subject of your request. If you are applying on behalf of someone else, a power of attorney or guardianship document must be attached.

Your application will be concluded free of charge within 30 days at the latest, depending on the nature of the request. If the process requires an additional cost, the fee set by the Personal Data Protection Board may be charged. If your application is rejected, you find the response insufficient or no response is given in time, you may file a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Board.

10. Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies to make the site work and to improve your experience. Cookies are small text files saved to your browser when you visit the site.

• Essential cookies: Required for the site to work securely and correctly; your consent is not required.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how the site is used and improve it (e.g. Google Analytics).
• Marketing cookies: Used to show you ads relevant to your interests and to measure ad effectiveness (e.g. Meta Pixel).

Analytics and marketing cookies are used only with the explicit consent you give through the cookie notice on our website. You can change your preferences at any time using the cookie icon in the bottom-left corner of the page, or delete or block cookies in your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may cause some parts of the site to not work properly.

When you click the WhatsApp button on our website, you are redirected to the WhatsApp (Meta) service. Data processing within that service is subject to the company’s own privacy policy.

11. Changes

This notice may be updated in line with changes in legislation or in our data processing activities. The current version is always published on this page.