Financial Integrity for Healthcare Professionals

About this course

Financial integrity is a core part of professionalism. Patients, employers, commissioners and the public trust healthcare professionals to be honest about the time they work, the fees they charge, the claims they make and the interests they hold. When that trust is broken, the consequences can include regulatory action, dismissal, criminal prosecution and lasting damage to public confidence.

This course explains what financial integrity means in UK healthcare, the standards set by the regulators, the law on fraud and bribery, and the practical rules on gifts, hospitality and conflicts of interest. It looks at common breaches and their consequences, how investigations work, how to develop and demonstrate insight, and practical tools that help professionals keep their financial practice honest. It is suitable for all UK healthcare professionals, including those responding to an investigation or fitness to practise process.

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 how financial integrity builds trust with patients, colleagues and the public.
• Apply the core principles of honesty, transparency, accountability and ethical decision-making.
• Describe what UK regulators, NHS guidance and the law require in financial matters.
• Manage gifts, hospitality and conflicts of interest correctly.
• Recognise common breaches of financial integrity and their consequences.
• Respond appropriately to a financial integrity concern or investigation.
• Develop insight, reflection and remediation after a financial lapse.
• Use practical tools to uphold financial integrity in everyday practice.

Who this course is for

All UK healthcare professionals, including those in NHS, private and mixed practice, and those responding to a concern or investigation.

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

Course content

10 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

GMC Good medical practice and conflicts of interest guidance; NMC Code; GDC Standards for the dental team; HCPC standards; GPhC standards; joint regulators' statement on conflicts of interest; NHS England conflicts of interest guidance; Fraud Act 2006 and Bribery Act 2010

Assessment

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

Questions about this course