NEW: Driving Interoperability and Standards Through Digital

NEW: Driving Interoperability and Standards Through Digital
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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, including the Data Use and Access Bill introduced in October, is mandating common standards for information sharing across health and care. This is a critical step towards delivering a 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, 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

  • 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.
  • Describe the planning and governance in place to ensure the work could be delivered at scale.

Outcome

  • 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.
  • Include data and qualitative feedback from staff and patients to illustrate impact.

Value

  • 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.
  • Highlight any wider system or operational gains achieved as a result of improved interoperability.

Involvement

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

Spread

  • Provide evidence of adoption across multiple services, sites or organisations.
  • Share how learning has been shared within and beyond your organisation.
  • Outline realistic plans or potential for scaling and replication elsewhere.

To find out more

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