40 minutes · free · certificate valid 1 year

Data Security in Health & Care

Learn why information about patients and people we support needs special care: the common law duty of confidentiality, the eight Caldicott Principles, the rules for sharing information safely, good everyday practice with records and devices, and the Data Security and Protection Toolkit. Finish the final assessment with a score of 75% or higher to earn a certificate, valid for one year.

Done this course before, or already know the material? You can go straight to the final assessment and renew your certificate without re-reading the lessons.

Who it's for: Frontline health and care staff in the UK, including support workers, nurses, domiciliary carers, and office and admin teams who handle information about patients and people we support.

What you'll learn

• Explain why health and care information is special category data and how the common law duty of confidentiality applies
• Apply the eight Caldicott Principles to everyday decisions about using and sharing information
• Decide when sharing is right, including for direct care, safeguarding, and requests from police or family
• Spot risky everyday habits with records, conversations, photos, messaging apps and devices
• Recognise incidents, near misses and subject access requests, and report or route them the same day

What you'll cover

1. 1

   Why care data is different

   Health and care information is special category data, protected by confidentiality law and the Caldicott Principles, and misusing it harms people who are already vulnerable.

2. 2

   The rules of sharing

   When sharing is expected and lawful, how consent and capacity work, and what to do when safeguarding, police or families come calling.

3. 3

   Everyday practice

   Records, conversations, photos, messaging apps, paper, mobile working and passwords: the daily habits that keep people's information safe.

4. 4

   The DSPT and incidents

   The Data Security and Protection Toolkit, the ten data security standards, reporting incidents fast, and supporting people's rights over their information.

5. 5

   Putting it into practice

   Short workplace scenarios that test how you would apply this course in real situations.

6. 6

   Final assessment

   20 questions drawn at random from the full question bank. Score 75% or higher to earn your certificate.