The professional details standard collates information surrounding the profession of the named practitioner.
There are 32 professions in the United Kingdom (UK) that are currently regulated by ten regulatory bodies, established by the government over many years since the first in 1858. Although regulation is statutory (meaning that it is enshrined in law) the bodies are independent of the government.
Each regulator has differing powers, roles and functions, but they have all been established to ensure that:
- standards of competence, conduct and ethics are set, which practitioners must meet in order to register and practise
- the quality of education and training courses are checked
- an accessible public register of practitioners is maintained
- complaints about registered practitioners are investigated and a decision made about whether the practitioner can continue to practise
Additionally, there are many professional bodies in existence either offering the same oversight for practitioners in professions not required to be regulated or offering further help and specific guidance for a practitioner practising a specialty and/or sub-specialty within a regulated profession. For the data standards Healthcode currently refers to all bodies that undertake such oversight as "regulatory".
For practitioners who are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC), further information is automatically captured via a feed received Monday to Friday (apart from Bank Holidays) from the List of Registered Medical Practitioners using Healthcode's republishing licence, details of which can be viewed on the GMC Information page.
Data elements required and their visibility to insurer and hospital organisations:
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FIELD |
DESCRIPTION |
INSURER |
HOSPITAL |
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Profession |
The overarching medical occupation of the practitioner e.g. surgeon, physician, physiotherapist. The practitioner can have more than one. |
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Primary Indicator |
Indication of the practitioner's primary profession. |
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Regulatory Body |
The name of the regulatory body the practitioner is a member of. |
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Regulatory Body Reference |
The practitioner's registration number with the listed regulatory body. |
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Registration Date |
The date the practitioner registered with the regulatory/professional body. |
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Specialty |
The branch of medical practice that is broadly focused on a defined group of patients, diseases or skills. |
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Professional Bodies |
The name of the professional body the practitioner is a member of. |
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Membership No. |
The membership number of the professional body the practitioner is a member of. |
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Biography |
An optional space for the practitioner to briefly detail their medical experience and expertise in their chosen field. |
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Research interests |
Research projects and activities that the practitioner is/has been involved in. |
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Red = Mandatory Blue = Conditional Green = Automatically populated