Driving Interoperability and Standards Through Digital

Driving Interoperability and Standards Through Digital
Driving Interoperability and Standards Through Digital
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  2. Start your entry (save it in-progress).
  3. Submit your entry to be in the running.

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For patients to get the best possible care, the right information needs to be in the right place at the right time. Variation in systems and inconsistent data sharing remain major barriers to achieving full interoperability across the NHS. These gaps create duplication, delay and unnecessary friction for both staff and patients.

National policy is now firmly behind change, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 makes information standards mandatory for health and care organisations and, for the first time, their IT suppliers, while legislation introduced in 2026 paves the way for the Single Patient Record, which patients will begin to view through the NHS App from 2028. Common standards for information sharing across health and care are a critical step towards delivering the Single Patient Record, expanding integration with the NHS App and enabling more people to manage their care digitally.

This award will recognise NHS led initiatives that have advanced interoperability at scale, using national standards to connect systems, improve care coordination and streamline workflows. Judges will look for clear, measurable benefits for patients and staff, evidence of adoption across services - particularly where organisational boundaries have been crossed, and plans for sustaining and scaling progress.

Eligibility

  • All NHS organisations (including providers, partnerships, and systems), General Practice and primary care organisations.
  • Evidence must relate to a project, ongoing or completed within the 2 years up until the award entry deadline.

Ambition

The challenge and context within which your project, person or organisation is set alongside your goals and targets whether quantitative or qualitative, and how this aligns with national priorities.

  • Set out the challenge your organisation or system needed to solve and why it mattered for patients and staff.
  • Explain how your initiative aligns with national policy and standards for information sharing, including the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and the ambition for a Single Patient Record.
  • Describe the planning and governance in place to ensure the work could be delivered at scale, and the measures of success set.

Collaboration

The stakeholders' involvement in co-designing and delivering the project. How have patients, staff at all levels, communities and other parties worked together to realise the outcomes?

  • Describe how clinical leaders, operational teams and digital staff worked together to deliver the programme.
  • Provide evidence of cross-organisation or cross-system collaboration, including with social care or wider partners where relevant.
  • Show how patient or service user input shaped the design and delivery.

Impact

The measurable benefits delivered to patients, staff, your organisation or the wider system. Provide data and evidence showing improvements to outcomes, quality, access, equity or efficiency.

  • Provide clear, before-and-after evidence showing improvements in the flow and quality of information between services.
  • Demonstrate measurable benefits such as improved patient safety, faster access to information, reduced duplication and better care coordination, including data and qualitative feedback from staff and patients.
  • Highlight any wider system or operational gains achieved as a result of improved interoperability, including financial benefits and value for money.

Scale

How your work has been shared, adopted or replicated beyond your immediate team or organisation. This includes dissemination through publications, presentations, toolkits, partnerships or inspiring similar initiatives elsewhere.

  • Provide evidence of adoption across multiple services, sites or organisations - judges see crossing organisational boundaries as the biggest differentiator in this category.
  • Share how learning has been shared within and beyond your organisation, including through publications, presentations, toolkits or partnerships.
  • Outline realistic plans or potential for scaling and replication elsewhere.

Sustainability

The potential for the project/work to continue and create lasting impact. Evidence of how it can be sustained or built upon.

  • Explain how the work supports long term goals such as the Single Patient Record and increased digital patient interactions.
  • Show how benefits have been embedded into everyday practice and will be sustained beyond initial delivery.
  • Describe the resource, governance and plans in place to build on the work over time.

Driving Interoperability and Standards Through Digital

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To find out more

Partnership opportunities:  Sponsorship Sales Team
Awards entry enquiries: Support Team
Judging and event management: Awards Support