1. Who we are

Collaborative Medical Education (“we”, “us”, “our”) provides free webinars, teaching resources and interactive guides for GP trainees and clinicians in the UK. We are the data controller for personal information collected through this website, collaborativemedicaleducation.com.

If you have any questions about this policy or your data, please get in touch using the options on our Contact page.

2. What information we collect

• Mailing list and enquiry forms: when you fill in our form, we collect the details you provide, such as your name, email address, role or training stage, and your message.
• Webinar registration: when you register for a live webinar, your details are collected by our webinar provider (GoTo Webinar) so we can send you joining instructions and reminders.
• Website usage: our hosting provider collects basic, anonymous statistics about how the site is used, such as pages visited and the type of device used.
• Messages on social media: if you contact us through Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube, we see the information you choose to share there.

We don’t knowingly collect sensitive information, and we ask that you never send us any patient-identifiable information.

3. Our interactive guides

Our interactive tools, such as the PHQ-9 practice tool, the safety-netting builder and the reflection builder, run entirely in your web browser. Anything you type or select in them is not saved, stored or sent to us.

4. How we use your information

• To send you updates about new webinars, resources and opportunities, if you’ve asked us to
• To reply to your enquiries and collaboration requests
• To run and improve our webinars and website
• To keep our website secure and working properly

We will never sell your personal information, and we don’t share it with pharmaceutical companies or other third parties for their marketing.

5. Our legal basis

• Consent: for sending you our mailing list emails. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
• Legitimate interests: for replying to enquiries, running our webinars and understanding how our website is used, in ways you would reasonably expect.

6. Who we share it with

We use trusted service providers to run our website and services. They only process your information on our instructions:

• Automattic (WordPress.com): website hosting and anonymous statistics
• Google: our forms and email
• GoTo (GoTo Webinar): webinar registration and delivery
• YouTube: embedded videos on our pages

Some of these providers may store data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where this happens, they use recognised safeguards, such as the UK-US data bridge or approved contract clauses, to protect your information.

7. Cookies

When you first visit our site, a banner asks for your cookie preferences. You can choose “Essential only” or “Accept all”, and change your mind at any time using the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page.

• Essential cookies: needed for the site to work, including our cm_consent cookie, which remembers your cookie choice for 6 months.
• Statistics: our hosting provider, WordPress.com, collects basic statistics about how the site is used.
• Embedded videos (optional): YouTube videos on our pages only load if you accept cookies. They use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode, but YouTube may set its own cookies once a video is played. If you choose “Essential only”, you can still watch our videos directly on YouTube.

You can also control or delete cookies in your browser settings.

8. How long we keep it

• Mailing list details: until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove them
• Enquiries: for as long as needed to deal with your request, and no longer than 2 years
• Webinar registrations: in line with GoTo Webinar’s retention settings, and only as long as needed to run our events

9. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct information that’s wrong or incomplete
• Ask us to delete your information
• Ask us to limit how we use your information, or object to us using it
• Ask for your information in a portable format
• Withdraw your consent at any time, for example by unsubscribing from our emails

To use any of these rights, please contact us through our Contact page. We’ll respond within one month.

10. Complaints

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

11. Children

Our website and services are designed for healthcare professionals and are not aimed at anyone under 18.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a new “last updated” date.