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Legal

Consent overview

Version v1.0 · last updated April 2026

§ 01 — Purpose of this page

This page describes the bases on which consent is obtained, recorded, and respected on drgladysz.com (the “site”), and the framework that will govern consent in contexts the site does not yet touch but is likely to in the future. It is written for two audiences — patients reading about their rights, and clinicians or researchers reading about the site’s standards.

The page is organised in four parts: (1) consent contexts the site touches today; (2) a forward-looking framework for contexts the site will touch later; (3) a cross-referenced overview of the patient rights underlying every consent decision; (4) practical mechanisms for exercising or withdrawing consent.

§ 02 — Contexts the site touches today

Part 1 — Consent at MVP

Contact-form submissions. Voluntary submission of the contact form is taken as consent to the processing of the data entered, for the sole purpose of replying to the message. Where the message contains health-related information — for example, a description of symptoms or a question about a procedure — that processing engages Article 9(2)(a) RODO/GDPR (explicit consent for special-category health data) in the European Union, and the relevant rules of the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 (HIPC) in New Zealand. The full processing description sits in the Privacy Policy.

Email correspondence. Where a reader writes directly to mateusz@drgladysz.com the same framework applies, with the address itself acting as the channel of submission.

Newsletter subscription. No newsletter is offered. The site’s brand specification rules out newsletters constructed around lead-magnet language, and none is contemplated at this version. If a newsletter is introduced in the future the framework in Part 2 will apply.

Cookies, analytics, and tracking. The site uses Plausible Analytics, which is configured to be cookie-free and to set no persistent identifier on the reader’s device. No third-party trackers, advertising pixels, or social-media beacons are deployed. Because no cookies or comparable identifiers are stored on, or read from, the reader’s terminal equipment, the consent requirement of Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC, as amended) is not engaged, and no cookie-consent banner is required. The full position is in the Privacy Policy.

§ 03 — Contexts the site will touch later

Part 2 — Forward-looking framework

The site is expected to grow into contexts that engage consent more directly. The following framework is published now so that readers can see the standards the site is committed to before any of these contexts is activated.

Patient case galleries and before-and-after imagery

No patient images are currently published on this website. When patient images are introduced post-MVP, they will be governed by the framework set out below.

The framework rests on three legal anchors — Article 81 of the Polish ustawa o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych (image rights), Rule 11 of the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 (limits on disclosure of health information) in New Zealand, and Article 9(2)(a) GDPR (explicit consent for health data, including images that disclose health information). The operational principles are:

  • Separate consent. Consent for use of clinical imagery is taken on a separate document, not bundled with consent to treatment.
  • Specific to use cases. Each anticipated use is independently agreed — website, academic publication, conference presentation, textbook chapter, social media — with each option separately checkbox-able and refusable in isolation.
  • Time-limited or perpetual, by election. The consent specifies whether the permission is granted for a defined period or without time limit; an unlimited grant is never the default.
  • Withdrawable. Consent may be withdrawn at any time by email to the address below. On withdrawal, images under the operator’s control will be removed from the website within 30 days, and from any further use; images already published in print, in archived journal issues, or in third-party caches are addressed on best-efforts terms only, and that limitation is disclosed at the time of consent.
  • Identifiability spectrum. Different consent thresholds apply along the spectrum from non-identifying clinical close-ups (for example, a hand without face or distinctive markings) through to fully identifying portraits. The threshold is set with reference to the realistic possibility of re-identification, not to the operator’s intent.
  • Minors. Imagery of a person under the age of majority requires consent of the legal representative and, where the child’s developmental stage allows, the child’s own assent recorded in age-appropriate language.
  • Patients without capacity. Where the patient lacks capacity to consent, the legal representative consents on the patient’s behalf within the limits of the relevant national law.
  • Re-consent on substantive change. A material change of use — for example, from a textbook chapter to a social-media post — triggers a fresh consent step.

Research participation

The site does not at present invite participation in research. Should that change — Dr Gładysz’s JMIR AI 2026 work illustrates the kind of project that may, in future, recruit through public-facing channels — research consent will be obtained on a separate, study-specific information sheet and consent form approved by the relevant ethics body: the Komisja Bioetyczna with jurisdiction over the relevant Polish institution, or the Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDEC) in New Zealand, as applicable. No research recruitment is permitted via the contact form or by email.

Educational use and progress tracking

The FEBHS MCQ platform, when launched, may use localStorage on the learner’s device to record progress. localStorage sits outside the scope of Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive only where strictly necessary for a service explicitly requested by the user; where progress tracking exceeds that threshold, opt-in consent will be sought on first use. No accounts exist at this version of the site, so no current consent issue arises.

Newsletter and direct communications

If a newsletter or other periodic communication is introduced, subscription will be opt-in only, the legal basis will be Article 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent), unsubscription will be available in every message, and consent records will be retained only as long as needed to evidence the lawfulness of past sends.

§ 04 — Patient rights underlying every consent decision

Part 3 — Rights overview

Every consent decision sits inside a wider set of patient rights. The site does not replace the official statements of those rights — readers should consult the regulators directly — but the following cross-reference is provided for orientation.

  • Right to information about treatment. New Zealand: Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, Right 6. Poland: art. 9–12 ustawy o prawach pacjenta i Rzeczniku Praw Pacjenta.
  • Right to make informed choices and give informed consent. New Zealand: Right 7. Poland: art. 16–17 of the same Polish statute, in conjunction with the ustawa o zawodach lekarza i lekarza dentysty.
  • Right to refuse treatment and to withdraw consent. New Zealand: Right 7(7). Poland: art. 16(1) (consent may be withdrawn at any stage).
  • Right of access to medical records. New Zealand: Privacy Act 2020, IPP 6, and HIPC Rule 6. Poland: art. 23–30 of the ustawa o prawach pacjenta.

§ 05 — Mechanisms for exercising or withdrawing consent

Part 4 — How to act on this

Consent under this page may be exercised, varied, or withdrawn by:

  • Email. mateusz@drgladysz.com — preferred for substantive requests, including image-removal requests under Part 2.
  • Postal contact. As stated in the Imprint.

If a reader wishes to escalate beyond the operator:

Response timeframes. Substantive requests are answered within one calendar month under GDPR Article 12(3), and within 20 working days under the Privacy Act 2020. Both timelines are observed concurrently, with the shorter applied where they differ in a particular case.

§ 06 — Document control