What is the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF)?

The Independent Doctors Federation (IDF) is a UK membership organisation for doctors in independent (private) practice, including private GPs. It is also a designated body for revalidation, which is why most private GPs come across it: if your licensed work is in the independent sector, you can connect to the IDF for your annual appraisal and revalidation. Joining is voluntary.

What the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF) is

The IDF describes itself as the UK’s leading independent doctors’ organisation, supporting doctors through education, networking and regulatory support. It covers all specialties, so its members include private GPs alongside consultants and other independent doctors. Its home page says it has more than 1,700 members at the time of review.

It now brands itself as IDrF and uses the web address idrf.co.uk, but its fee schedule and the legislation still use the name Independent Doctors Federation.

The IDF is not a regulator. It does not register services, license doctors or inspect practices. Those jobs belong to the GMC and, for your service, the CQC in England or the equivalent regulator elsewhere in the UK.

What the IDF offers members

At the time of review, the IDF lists these services:

• Appraisal. Annual appraisal with a national team of appraisers from a range of specialties, run on the L2P appraisal platform.
• Revalidation. A responsible officer and revalidation team for doctors connected to it as their designated body.
• CQC advice. An hour of free advice from an independent CQC adviser by phone or email, discounted packages after that, and registration and compliance kits.
• Wider advice and support. Advice on CQC, private medical insurers, insurance and patient complaints, plus confidential mental health support, discounted training modules and advocacy.
• Education and events. Educational resources for members and events through the year for learning and networking.

There are three membership types: standard IDrF membership, connected membership (standard membership plus appraisal and revalidation) and corporate membership for businesses that want to reach IDF members.

Can the IDF be your designated body?

Yes, if you meet its criteria and the IDF is your correct connection. Every licensed doctor needs a prescribed connection to a designated body, or a suitable person, for revalidation. The Medical Profession (Responsible Officers) Regulations 2010 list the Independent Doctors’ Federation as a designated body, and give a doctor a prescribed connection to it through membership.

The same regulations set an order of priority when you have more than one possible connection. Doctors in training, doctors on a medical performers list and doctors employed by a designated body connect there first. So if you still do NHS GP work in England, your connection is normally through the performers list, not the IDF. The full picture is in how to get your appraisal and revalidation as a private GP.

To connect, the IDF says you must:

1. hold a GMC licence to practise, and disclose any sanctions, warnings or investigations
2. do work that needs a licence to practise in the independent medical sector
3. confirm through the GMC’s connection tool that the IDF is the right designated body for you

Connected members have their annual appraisal with one of the IDF’s appraisers, and its responsible officer makes the revalidation recommendation to the GMC. If you cannot connect because you already have a designated body, the IDF says you can ask its revalidation team about using its appraisal service on its own.

How much the IDF costs

The IDF publishes a fee schedule. At the time of review it states:

Item	Fee
Annual membership subscription	£415 a year, by direct debit
Joining fee for connected membership	£115, non-refundable
Additional annual fee for connected membership (appraisal and revalidation)	£1,260, charged each year on 1 April
Converting from standard to connected membership	£115, non-refundable
Corporate membership	£1,070 plus VAT (5 employees or fewer); £1,600 plus VAT (6 or more)
Retired membership	£25 a year

So a connected member pays both the membership subscription and the connected fee: £1,675 a year, plus the £115 joining fee in the first year. The schedule says the subscription is only refundable if you cancel within 28 days of joining, and that payment plans are available for the connected fee.

If you move to the IDF from another designated body partway through a revalidation cycle, the schedule says it will invoice backdated fees for the earlier years in that cycle, at £395 a year for 2024 to 2025 onwards and lower rates for earlier years. These are worked out only after your connection is confirmed with the GMC, so ask for an estimate before you apply.

Should you join?

There is no requirement to join the IDF to practise privately. Whether it is worth it depends mostly on one question: do you need a designated body?

• You still do NHS work. Your appraisal and revalidation normally stay with your NHS designated body, and your appraisal should cover your private work too. Membership would be for advice, events and networking, which you can weigh against other bodies. See the benefits of joining professional associations.
• You work for a private provider that is a designated body. Private hospitals and clinic providers can be the designated body for doctors they employ or grant practising privileges to. Ask your provider before you look elsewhere.
• You are fully private and self-employed. You will need a designated body or suitable person, and the IDF is one of the options. Compare it with any others the GMC tool offers, on cost, appraisal arrangements and support.

Private practice can be isolating, and the IDF’s events are one way to meet peers. They are not the only one. See how to keep in touch with your peers.

Questions to ask before you join

1. Am I eligible to connect, given where I do my licensed work?
2. What exactly is included in the connected fee, and what costs extra?
3. Will I owe backdated fees for my current revalidation cycle, and how much?
4. How are appraisers allocated, and how far ahead are appraisals booked?
5. How do you gather information about my practice from the organisations I work for?
6. What happens to my connection if I take up NHS work again?

Across the UK

Revalidation and the GMC’s connection rules apply to licensed doctors across the UK, and the IDF accepts members UK-wide. The regulator of your service differs by nation: the CQC in England, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and the RQIA in Northern Ireland. The IDF’s CQC adviser service is aimed at England, so if you practise elsewhere, ask what help it offers with your own regulator.