Data Privacy Requirements for Private Healthcare Practitioners

Private healthcare practitioners are responsible for supporting the physical and emotional welfare. However, they also have a responsibility to protect their clients' privacy, which means keeping their data safe.

Regulations and legal requirements in this space can be a minefield, making it difficult for healthcare practitioners to be confident in what they're doing, both from a compliance and an ethical point of view.

In this article, I will endeavour to explain data privacy requirements, minus the legal jargon, and provide practical advice on how you can keep your clients’ personal information safe and secure.

My experience as a solicitor working with private healthcare practitioners has given me a comprehensive understanding of the profession and the legal framework that surrounds it. So, let’s untangle the demands of data privacy and ensure you can establish processes that minimise risk and protect both your clients and your practice.

Registrations and Regulations

Any business (even if based abroad) that collects data about a UK resident individual must register with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office). Responsible for upholding data protection compliance for organisations in the UK, the ICO requires most businesses (some exemptions apply) to register and pay an annual fee, typically between £40 and £60, depending on the size of the organisation.

When seeking guidance and regulations around data privacy, all UK businesses should adhere to  UK GDPR (UK General Data Protection Regulations) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018. You must comply with these regulations by establishing processes and procedures, and backing those up with policies that explain how these measures protect client data and uphold UK data protection law.

Processes and Procedures

Before being able to set policies, you must first decide, in adherence to data protection regulations, what processes and procedures you will implement. 

Collecting Data

Before you collect any data, you must have a valid reason to do so. Any data you request must be essential for conducting services, such as therapeutic assessment and treatment. Contact information and basics for onboarding would be included, but so too would any information gained through treatment that enables the provision of care. The simplest way to assess whether the information you’re collecting is valid is by asking yourself what the purpose is and deciding whether that benefits the patient, and not just your business.

Next, you should establish methods through which you will keep data secure. This may include firewalls, access controls, encryption, password protection, etc. Paper documents should also be kept secure. You will need to confirm who else in your practice has access to what information and set access limitations where/if necessary.

Retention Periods

You must decide on how long you will store therapy records and other personal data. You must be able to justify this (clinical need, legal requirement, regulatory requirement, liability, etc). There is no legally fixed retention period, but UK GDPR advises you shouldn’t keep data for longer than is necessary.

Data Breach Response

Whilst you must ensure data is protected through digital and physical methods, there is always some risk of data breach. Therefore, you must ensure you have a response plan in place. This would include identifying the breach, assessing the impact, reporting to the ICO and notifying data holders. You should also keep a breach register and a post-incident review procedure to prevent this from recurring.

Access Requests

Data holders have a right to request access to the data you hold, and you must have a procedure in place for responding to access requests. This may involve verification of the request, and who it has come from, setting reasonable timescales, formatting of the data, in what cases it may be necessary to redact information, and if fees might be applied.

Processing and Sharing Data

In your role, it may sometimes be necessary to give data access to third parties, such as virtual assistants, technical support providers, other professionals, etc. You may also use systems and services to process data, such as transcription software and cloud services, and this would also fall under data sharing, since the technology has access. You must ensure all third parties also have data protection procedures in place and that those meet your standards and legal obligations. Check data protection policies prior to working with third parties or using technologies that process data.

Auditing and Governance

Regular reviews of data processes should be set to ensure practices are effective and remain in line with guidance. While private healthcare practitioners must understand data protection regulations, it is equally important that all staff are informed, as practice owners remain liable for any breaches. Therefore, regular staff training is essential.

Policies Private Healthcare Practitioners Need Internally

Policies for data protection can be split into internal documents that support compliance and demonstrate your commitment to data protection, and client-facing documents that you cannot operate without.

Internally, you should conduct and document a data protection risk assessment. Not only will this help you identify and minimise risk, but it is also required as you’re processing health data, which falls under ‘Special Category Data’ in UK GDPR. This means the data you’re processing is considered sensitive and privacy risks and decision-making need to be formally documented.

As a holder of special category data, you are required to keep a Record of Processing Activities that documents the data you hold, the purpose (lawful basis), retention periods, safeguards, transfers (sharing) and the categories of data subjects. You must also explain the processes this data goes through and include an Appropriate Policy Document outlining how you comply with Article 5 'Principles for Processing Special Category Data'.

A Data Protection Policy is also required if you have employees or subcontractors. This serves as a formal documentation of your organisation’s policy for data protection, including roles, responsibilities, security practices, training, breach management, etc. This will apply to all staff to promote data security and explain how this works, in practice, within your organisation.

Lastly, if any AI tool is utilised by your practice in the handling of health-related data, then this must be documented in a separate DPIA (Data Protection Impact Assessment) as it may present unique risks. Within your DPIA, you should assess these risks and set out how you will mitigate them. Refer to your AI tool’s data protection policies but, due to the ongoing and swift development of AI tools, this policy is one to highlight for regular review, as risks are likely to change.

Policies Private Healthcare Practitioners Need to Provide/Display

Essentially, there are two things all private healthcare practitioners must provide their clients with: Information on data protection and a means of giving consent for this. Therefore, you’ll need two privacy policies. One is a Website Privacy Policy that explains what personal data (including health data) you collect via your website. This should define what data you collect, lawful reasons for collecting it, how it is used, your policies on sharing data, the rights of the data holder and - importantly - your contact information, should they wish to request access or pose further questions regarding the policy. You must also provide an offline Privacy Policy for those who have not accessed your services via your website, and this will include much of the same information. Typically, this will be part of your onboarding process and may be included in your welcome pack.

Consent is also highly important in healthcare services, and so you’ll need to acquire Health Data Consent. This is usually included as a clause/section in your Therapy Terms Agreement and, again, within this section, you should explain how and why you collect data and how this is processed and stored. Clients must agree to these terms freely, giving formal consent before any further services are provided, even if they have previously been shown your privacy policy. They also have the right to withdraw consent at any point.

Lastly, it’s important to recognise that, since healthcare services may be provided to vulnerable people, all documents used in your practice should be transparent, free of legal jargon and deemed accessible. Providers should encourage clients to properly read through and fully understand the policies and their legal rights. This ensures best practice in patient care and protects your practice.

Further Support and Resources

We have covered the basics in this article, and I hope it doesn’t feel too overwhelming. If it does, please do get in touch, and I can help identify the legal documents you might need and answer any other questions you have.

My online legal shop for psychologists offers some free and paid resources, and I also have a dedicated page for psychologists detailing the various legal toolkits I have available for independent practices. Furthermore, we have created a complete Website Policies For Psychologists Toolkit which includes a:

• Website Privacy Policy  

• Website Terms and Conditions

• Website Cookie Policy

• Cookie Guide

• Data Protection Complaints Policy Template

• Launch a Website Checklist

• GDPR Guidance Sheet

Download below by clicking on the image.

Let’s help ensure your private healthcare practice has everything needed to stay compliant and thrive.