Meet the experts shaping the future of digital health and care. Our Judges Spotlight series showcases the vision and insight of the HSJ Digital Awards judging panel - leaders driving innovation, transformation and lasting impact across the NHS.
Discover James Ray, National Clinical Advisor IUEC, NHS England experience and advice for this year’s entrants below.
Tell us about yourself - what inspired you to get involved in digital health?
I am an Emergency Medicine Consultant in Oxford as well as Deputy Clinical Director for Acute Medicine and Rehabilitation Directorate which gives me oversight of patient pathways between the community and secondary care which enables me to support the 10-year plan and medium-term strategy to support more care closer to home. I also lead the Acute Trust within the interface between Primary and Secondary care, an area that is ripe for digital integration and solutions. I am a national clinical advisor supporting the Digital Front Door and the future of Intelligent Navigation as well as supporting the London region with clinical digital leadership within Integrated Urgent Care. Digital Academy and the contacts I have made since have continued my enthusiasm to support the NHS in developing a future digital strategy across all services.
From your experience in digital transformation, what approaches have made a lasting impact in health and care?
Having paperless EPR systems across Trusts with access to Shared Care Records have had one of the biggest impacts. We need to work on better integration across the whole system, linking population health data to support both elective and Urgent Care.
What digital innovation or trend are you most excited to see influencing the NHS in the next few years?
Artificial Intelligence: Within services such as radiology and dermatology with the future of triage and decision support being the next big step.
What have you learned from your time on the HSJ Digital Awards judging panel?
I have learnt of all the amazing work that is going on across different regions that needs showcasing
What one piece of advice would you give to teams preparing their entries to help their work stand out?
What makes your service/product/development stand out and how does it translate for jobbing clinicians to improve the working environment as well as patient safety and experience.