Founded in January 2013 by a number of existing organisations – Privacy International, Big Brother Watch, NO2ID, FIPR, TheBigOptOut, Terri Dowty (former Director of ARCH) and Phil Booth (former National Coordinator of NO2ID) – medConfidential began as a direct response to the imminent and serious threat posed by radical changes* in the way two new arms-length bodies, the NHS Commissioning Board (‘NHS England’) and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), planned to extract and pass on patients’ medical information from NHS health record systems in England.

Incorporated in April 2013 as a company limited by guarantee with charitable objects, medConfidential is an independent, non-partisan organisation working with patients and medics, service users and care professionals, drawing advice from a network of experts in the fields of health informatics, computer security, law/ethics and privacy.

medConfidential believes there need be no conflict between good research, good ethics and good medical care. We campaign for confidentiality and consent in health and social care – seeking to ensure that every flow of data into, across and out of the NHS and care system is consensual, safe and transparent.