We've updated the code of practice that CQC staff will follow to obtain, handle, use and disclose confidential personal information.
The code explains how CQC makes decisions relating to people’s confidential personal information. This includes how we decide whether we need to look at medical or care records during an inspection, and whether we need to share personal information that we hold.
Confidential personal information plays an essential role in our inspection work. Earlier this year, we ran a consultation asking for people’s views about our plans to update our code of practice on handling confidential personal information across all areas we work in.
The revised code of practice recognises the most recent changes in legislation and ensures that our policy aligns with codes of practices on confidential information from NHS Digital and the Department of Health. It explains more clearly than before why the use of confidential personal information is vital to our role and gives specific examples that show how the code will translate into action.
A full response to the consultation can be found here.
The updated code of practice can be found on our privacy page. We've also provided a brief guide to explain why we may need to look at records during an inspection.