Retina.com.ph is an online resource containing relevant information on the retina and vitreous conditions, medical and surgical treatment, surgeon, and treatment costs. This is meant to assist the layman in making an informed choice.

Terms and Conditions of Use

The Ophthalmic Consultants Philippines, owner and manager of the EYE REPUBLIC Ophthalmology Clinic ("EYE REPUBLIC") maintain numerous web sites, i.e. Cataract.com.ph, Cataract-Surgery-Manila.com, Eye.com.ph, EyeDoc4Kids.com.ph, EyeRepublic.com, EyeSurgery.ph, Glaucoma.com.ph, iLASIK-Manila.com, LASIK.com.ph, LASIK-Surgery-Manila.com, Phakic-Surgery.com, RefractiveSurgery.ph, Retina.com.ph, Strabismus.com.ph, TheWebDoctor.org, and Uveitis.com.ph ("Eye Site").

By entering Eye Site you acknowledge and agree to all terms and conditions stated herein. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use Eye Site.

By entering Eye Site you acknowledge and agree that Eye Site is intended for viewing within the Philippines only and will only be construed and evaluated according to the Philippines law. If you use Eye Site from other locations you are responsible for compliance with any and all applicable local laws. EYE REPUBLIC makes no representations that the materials contained within this site are appropriate for locations outside the Philippines. With regard to any and all information contained herein, including but not limited to information regarding products and services, such information applies only to those goods or services provided or offered within the Philippines.

Privacy Policy

EYE REPUBLIC respects your privacy and towards that purpose, maintain Eye Site by the following principles:

1. You do not need to disclose personal information to use Eye Site. No such information is obtained about you unless you choose to submit it to us. For example, if you email us your comments, that identifies your email address. If you request an appointment with a physician, a limited number of clinic administrators will see this information and use it to arrange care where appropriate. Individuals who access this information do so as a part of their specific job responsibility and do so only for the purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations.

2. We have made reasonable efforts to ensure that the information you may provide is confidential and not personally identifiable. You should understand, however, that we cannot guarantee that electronic transmissions via the internet are 100% secure from interception, and thus cannot guarantee the security and confidentiality of this information.

3. The web servers used by EYE REPUBLIC, www.domains.ph, www.godaddy.com, and www.google.com, collect and save the default information customarily logged by World Wide Web server software. Our logs contain the following information for each request: date and time, originating IP address and domain name (the unique address assigned to your internet service provider's computer that connects to the internet), object requested (meaning which pages were viewed), and completion status of the request (how many total pages were viewed). We use these logs to help improve our service by evaluating the "traffic" to our site in terms of number of unique visitors, level of demand, most popular page requests, and types of errors. These logs may be kept for an indefinite amount of time, used at any time and in any way necessary to prevent security breaches and to ensure the integrity of the data on our servers.

4. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or other facially valid legal processes, we will not share any information we receive with any parties outside of EYE REPUBLIC or its affiliated organizations.

Medical Information Disclaimer

The information and reference materials contained at Eye Site are intended solely for the information of the reader. Medicine is a constantly changing science and not all therapies are clearly established. New research changes drug and treatment therapies daily. The authors, editors, and publisher of Eye Site have used their best efforts to provide information that is up-to-date and accurate and is generally accepted within medical standards at the time of publication. However, as medical science is constantly changing and human error is always possible, the authors, editors, and publisher or any other party involved with the publication of Eye Site do not warrant the information in Eye Site is accurate or complete, nor are they responsible for omissions or errors in Eye Site or for the results of using this information. The reader should confirm the information in Eye Site from other sources prior to use. In particular, all drug doses, indications, and contraindications should be confirmed in the package insert. Although the medical information contained herein is written and/or reviewed by medically trained and qualified health professionals, the content is not to be used for diagnosis or treatment purposes, but rather for discussion with the patient's physician. All visitors to this and associated sites of EYE REPUBLIC relieve the owners and/or operators of any liability and/or damages as a result of the use of this website and agree to read and abide by the complete terms of the legal agreement found at "Terms of Use."

You understand and agree that EYE REPUBLIC does Not Provide Medical Advice or Endorsements. FOR SYMPTOMS, QUESTIONS AND MEDICAL ADVICE SEE YOUR EYE M.D.!

1. Eye Site Does Not Provide Medical Advice. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all content on Eye Site is the opinion or information of its author, not EYE REPUBLIC. Eye Site is not a substitute for medical advice. Always contact your own eye doctor or other professional healthcare provider if you have a question concerning your or your family's health. RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION ON EYE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. EYE REPUBLIC IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY ADVICE, COURSE OF TREATMENT, DIAGNOSIS, DRUG AND DEVICE APPLICATION OR OTHER INFORMATION, SERVICES, OR PRODUCTS THAT YOU OBTAIN THROUGH EYE SITE.

2. EYE REPUBLIC Does Not Recommend or Endorse the Products or Services of Others. EYE REPUBLIC does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, drugs, devices, products, services, physicians, or medical institutions that may be mentioned or referenced on Eye Site. Any advertisers who purchase banners or otherwise support EYE REPUBLIC and Eye Site have no influence on the editorial content or presentation and any such advertisements are not implied or express endorsements of any product, service, or company.

Summaries of peer reviewed journal abstracts are taken from Pubmed.gov and appropriate links are presented. Where appropriate, information contained on Eye Site are supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, have specific HTML links to that data. The date when a clinical page was last modified are clearly displayed. Any claims relating to the benefits/performance of a specific treatment, commercial product or service are supported by appropriate, balanced evidence in the manner outlined above.

Medical Tourism Disclaimer

Since the beginning, EYE REPUBLIC has been taking care of tourists and foreigners, naturally making us one of the leading choices of medical tourists seeking eye care and services in the country today. A little planning and common-sense precautions can minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of availing of eye treatment in Manila. Anyone contemplating on having eye treatment in Manila should:

Advisory/Editorial Board

Any medical or health advice provided and hosted on Eye Site will only be given by medically trained and qualified health professionals, namely, medical doctors, unless a clear statement is made that a piece of advice offered is from a non-medically qualified individual or organisation.

List of acronyms relating to degrees or affiliations of our editorial board:

Copyright Information

All pages within Eye Site, including but not limited to the text, images, audio or video contained herein, are the property of EYE REPUBLIC and may not be used in any manner, or for any purpose, without express written permission of EYE REPUBLIC, except as provided for herein. Unless indicated otherwise, all images and information on Eye Site was originally written by the authors of Eye Site, and are protected by both The Philippines and international copyright laws.

The paragraphs below lists the terms of use users of Eye Site must agree to before using the images and/or information herein:

1. Without in any way waving any of the foregoing rights, you may download one copy of the material on Eye Site for your personal, non-commercial home use only, provided you do not delete or change any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notices.

2. Users may use any of the photographic images or information found on Eye Site on personal web sites, free of charge. (The term "photograph" does not include illustrations or artwork).  However, users may NOT redistribute, sell, or repost for download any of the images found on Eye Site on any medium (CD-Rom, website, video, brochures, etc.) without the expressed written permission of Eye Site webmaster. The rights to these images belong to the photographer, and usage terms of these images will be consulted with the photographer himself.

3. Users agree not to remove the watermark, if present.

4. Users agree not to hold EYE REPUBLIC liable for any damages resulting from proper or improper use of any information or images found on Eye Site.

5. Modification or use of the material on Eye Site for any other purpose violates EYE REPUBLIC legal rights. To report any alleged copyright or trademark infringements in connection with Eye Site, please notify our webmaster.

A link to Eye Site will be very much appreciated, although not required.

By using any of the information and or images on Eye Site, you understand that you have read and agreed to the above usage terms. These terms will be strictly enforced, and violators will face criminal charges.

Illustrations and Artwork

Unless indicated otherwise, all ophthalmic illustrations and artwork contained in Eye Site was created by and is the property of TheWebDoctor.org and Ophthalmic Consultants Philippines. Numerous ophthalmic illustrations and artwork contained in Eye Site was created by and is the property of Mark Erickson, CRA, COT. These images are labelled accordingly. If you are interested in purchasing existing or custom ophthalmic artwork from Mark Erickson, please visit www.JirehDesign.com.

Trademark

Eye Site are trademarks of the Ophthalmic Consultants Philippines. All other trademarks and/or service marks used in Eye Site are the trademarks and/or service marks of their respective third party owner(s). Nothing contained on Eye Site should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any trademark and/or service mark displayed on Eye Site without the written permission of EYE REPUBLIC or such third party owner(s). You acknowledge that EYE REPUBLIC will aggressively enforce its intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law, including, without limitation, the seeking of criminal prosecution.

Warranty Disclaimer

Eye Site including any content and information contained within it, any site-related service, and any product or service purchased or made available through Eye Site, is provided "as is" without representations and warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, or non-infringement.

With respect to any third party products or services described or made available in connection with EYE REPUBLIC web sites, you acknowledge that any warranty that is provided in connection with such third party products or services is provided solely by the third party provider of such products or services, and not by EYE REPUBLIC, its owners, sponsors,  site developers or agents.  You also acknowledge that your access to and/or use of Eye Site and/or related products or services may not be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure. You assume total responsibility and risk for your use of Eye Site, any other site accessible through Eye Site, and any site-related products or services. Your sole remedy for dissatisfaction with Eye Site, site-related products or services, and/or content or information contained within Eye Site is to stop using Eye Site and/or those products or services.

EYE REPUBLIC, its owners, sponsors, site developers, agents, third party suppliers and licensors are neither responsible nor liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, punitive or other damages under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other theory arising out of or relating in any way to Eye Site, site-related products, services and/or content or information contained within Eye Site or linked to or from the Eye Site.

The information contained in Eye Site is intended as an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatment. It is not a substitute for a medical exam, nor does it replace the need for services provided by medical professionals or independent determinations. Individual doctors must make their own independent determinations prior to authorizing a course of treatment or prescribing any drugs. The use of Eye Site shall in no way create a doctor-patient relationship between the owners of Eye Site and the viewers. A person's individual doctor must determine what is safe and effective for each individual person or patient. EYE REPUBLIC does not assume any responsibility or risk for the use of any information contained within Eye Site.

A possibility exists that Eye Site could include inaccuracies or errors and that unauthorized additions, deletions and alterations could be made to Eye Site by third parties. Although EYE REPUBLIC attempts to ensure the integrity of Eye Site, it makes no guarantees whatsoever as to the completeness, correctness or accuracy of Eye Site. In the event that such an inaccuracy arises, please inform EYE REPUBLIC so that it can be corrected.

In some instances, the content available through Eye Site represents the opinions and judgments of the respective information provider or Eye Site user, or other user not under contract with EYE REPUBLIC. EYE REPUBLIC neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on Eye Site by anyone other than authorized EYE REPUBLIC employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. Under no circumstances will EYE REPUBLIC be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information obtained through Eye Site. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through Eye Site. You acknowledge that EYE REPUBLIC is not liable for the defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct of other users or third-parties, and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with you.

Indemnity

It is hereby agreed that a user shall indemnify and hold Eye Site and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, employees, partners and licensors harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees, made by any third party arising from the use of Eye Site or due to or arising out of any material submitted, posted, transmitted or otherwise made available through the website.

Submissions

You acknowledge and agree that, by submitting any text, images, data, or other materials ("Content") to Eye Site, you grant to EYE REPUBLIC a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide right and license to link to, use, reproduce, transmit, modify, adapt, publish, display, distribute, translate, and sublicense such material (in whole or in part) and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such material. Further, by submitting Content to EYE REPUBLIC, you acknowledge that you have the authority to grant such rights to EYE REPUBLIC. By entering Eye Site you acknowledge and agree that any communication or material you transmit to Eye Site, in any manner and for any reason, will not be treated as confidential or proprietary. The foregoing provisions regarding Content are for the benefit of EYE REPUBLIC, its subsidiaries, and its third party content providers and licensors, and each shall have the right to assert and enforce those provisions directly or on its own behalf.

Advertising

We do not display paid banner advertising.

All the links and banners placed on Eye Site are either online partners or links deemed worthy of placement by Eye Site. They are not a source of income. If you wish to link up with Eye Site, please submit your request. Kindly provide your site address. After the review process is completed,  we will get back to you.

Any non-paying banner or ‘friendly’ link will be distinguished from editorial content by a label such as “banner” or “friendly banner”. These banners are not advertisements but have been provided for further reference or other purposes, and are not endorsed by Eye Site.

Acknowledgements

Eye Site, may contain links to other Web sites operated by third parties ("Useful Eye Sites"). You acknowledge that EYE REPUBLIC does not endorse the Useful Eye Sites and is not responsible for any content that appears on the Useful Eye Sites. You also acknowledge that the respective owners of the Useful Eye Sites neither endorse nor are affiliated with EYE REPUBLIC.

Funding

This academic website was established in 2003 by the Ophthalmic Consultants Philippines, an SEC-registered general professional partnership composed of graduates of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, certified by the Board of Medicine, residency trained in Ophthalmology at the Philippine General Hospital Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, certified by the Philippine Board of Ophthalmology, and fellowship trained in different subspecialties at the Philippine General Hospital and abroad, including the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School in Boston. All of the cost associated with maintaining Eye Site is funded by the Ophthalmic Consultants Philippines Co., and there is no commercial support.

Comments

Any comments or materials sent to Eye Site, including but not limited to feedback data, comments and suggestions ("Feedback"), shall be deemed to be non-confidential. EYE REPUBLIC shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such Feedback and shall be free to reproduce, use, disclose, exhibit, display, transform, create derivative works and distribute the Feedback to others without limitation. Further, EYE REPUBLIC shall be free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in such Feedback for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing and marketing products incorporating such Feedback.

Modifications

EYE REPUBLIC shall have the right at any time to (a) change the terms of this Agreement, (b) change the Eye Site  including eliminating or discontinuing any content or feature of Eye Site, restricting the hours of availability, or limiting the amount of use permitted, or (c) add or change any fees or charges for use of Eye Site, including instituting new or increased fees or charges for the use of Eye Site or any other Eye Site-related services or any feature thereof. Such changes, modifications, additions, or deletions shall be effective immediately upon notice thereof, which may be given by means including, but not limited to, posting on Eye Site, or by electronic mail, or by conventional mail. Your use of Eye Site after such notice shall be deemed to constitute your acceptance of such changes, modifications, additions, or deletions. You are expected to review this Agreement periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version.