Ensuring Confidentiality in Healthcare Practice

About this course

Confidentiality is a cornerstone of healthcare. Patients share intimate information on the understanding that it will be protected, and that trust allows them to seek care openly. In the UK, confidentiality is protected by the common law, by data protection legislation, by the Caldicott principles and by every regulator's standards. Breaches can lead to complaints, disciplinary action, regulatory sanctions, fines for organisations and, in some cases, criminal prosecution.

This course explains the key concepts and the legal framework, including recent changes under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, when information can and must be shared, how to protect information in everyday practice, in teams, in digital systems and online, how to handle third-party requests, how breaches happen and how to respond, and how to strengthen your own confidentiality practice. It emphasises that appropriate sharing is as important as protection: failing to share information when it is needed for care or safety can itself cause harm.

CPD Value and How to Record It:

This course is designed to provide approximately 2 hours of learning, including reading, the reflection points, the reflective account and the assessment. In the UK, CPD is generally recorded as the time actually spent learning, so you should record the time you genuinely spend, which may be more or less than the estimate.

How the course fits your revalidation or CPD requirements depends on your regulator. For example, the NMC asks nurses, midwives and nursing associates to record 35 hours of CPD over three years, of which at least 20 must be participatory; self-directed online learning such as this course usually counts as individual learning unless you complete it with others. The GMC expects doctors to reflect on CPD for appraisal and revalidation rather than setting a fixed number of hours. The HCPC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, GOsC and GCC each set their own CPD requirements, so check the current rules that apply to you. Always keep your certificate together with your written reflection.

What you will learn

• Explain the key concepts of confidentiality and why they matter.
• Describe the common law, UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018 and Caldicott principles.
• Apply regulators' standards, including GMC confidentiality guidance.
• Decide when information can or must be disclosed, with or without consent.
• Protect information in clinical, team, digital and online settings.
• Respond appropriately to third-party requests and data breaches.
• Strengthen and reflect on your own confidentiality practice.

Who this course is for

All UK healthcare professionals, and those responding to a confidentiality or data protection concern.

Social workers: this cross-profession course covers principles that apply across health and social care; most worked examples come from healthcare settings.

Course content

9 sections · 2 CPD hours · 15 MCQs

Course facts

CPD value

Approximately 2 CPD hours (estimated learning time, including reflection and assessment)

Format

Self-paced reading with case illustrations, reflection points and a written reflective account

Standards covered

Common law duty of confidentiality; UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; Caldicott principles; GMC confidentiality guidance; NMC, GDC, HCPC, GPhC and other regulators' standards

Assessment

15 scenario-based multiple-choice questions; pass mark 12 out of 15 (80%)

Questions about this course