After setting up and directing the Institute for Digital Health Care at Warwick University for 2.5 years, Dr Jeremy Wyatt was recently appointed Leadership Chair in eHealth Research at Leeds Institute of Health Sciences and as an adviser on new information and communication technologies to the Royal College of Physicians in London. Before this, Jeremy directed the Dundee Health Informatics and eHealth Research Centre, set up and directed a new R&D programme at NICE, was visiting professor in Oxford, Amsterdam and Oporto universities and NHS Academic Adviser on knowledge management. He trained as a hospital physician in Oxford, London and Glasgow and then in medical informatics in Stanford and London universities. He helped found the Cochrane Collaboration in 1992 and set up Cochrane's Effective Practice and Organisation of Care review group in 1994. He was ranked the third in his discipline worldwide in 2009, has been invited to give 36 overseas lectures in the last 10 years and has an h index of 27. His profile was one of the top 10% most viewed LinkedIn profiles for 2012. He is a member of the new mHealth Technical Advisory Group to the WHO Director General.

His research explores how to design and evaluate complex interventions such as technologies for disseminating evidence (e.g. decision support), supporting self-care (e.g. telehealth) and helping to prevent long-term conditions (e.g. Apps, SMS msgs). He has written three textbooks on e-health and in his spare time makes jewellery and commemorative objects in titanium and precious metals.


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John Coulthard is the Director of Customer Relations working in the Patients and Information Directorate of the NHS Commissioning Board. He has held the post since autumn 2012. John served in the British Army during the 80s and 90s in a variety of roles. He attended the Army Staff College and commanded a specialist independent Squadron in both peace and wartime. He served in the USA, Israel, Germany, France and the UK. On leaving the Army, John studied Business Administration at Oxford Brookes University.

From 1994, he then spent five years in the NHS leading change programmes in the South West Region and during this time he attended the Top Managers Programme at the King's Fund. He joined Microsoft in 1999 and worked with others to address customer and management issues in manufacturing, retail services, the music industry and small businesses, before becoming Chief of Staff of the UK Subsidiary.

In 2007, John became Senior Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences for Microsoft UK. He led Microsoft's work in consumer and enterprise health, as well as being responsible for the development of social and commercial public service strategies for Microsoft. In 2010 he was a joint author of the RSA report "Online or in-line: the future of information and technology in public services". He joined the Department of Health NHS X Programme Board as an external member, to examine options to reform the NHS in England.

Presentation: Improving patient experiences and outcomes

What benefits can a digitally enabled NHS provide for patients in terms of the care received and ultimate outcome? Will online services provide the desired improvement in choice and flexibility without compromising safety and security?

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Rachel Neaman has worked in communications and public affairs for over 20 years. She started her career as an editor at Cambridge University Press before moving into online and offline publications management, first with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, and then with the European Union in Lisbon.

While at the EU she ran a multilingual, multichannel publishing programme, and developed an innovative digital communications strategy for public and workforce audiences, including a multilingual web site which won a European Information Sources award. From Lisbon she moved back to London to work on broadcast content systems at Flextech Television (now Virgin Media) before joining the Department of Health (DH) in 2004.

Rachel is currently the DH Digital Leader and Deputy Director for Digital, Channel Strategy and Publishing. She has overall responsibility for the DH's digital strategy, policy and practice; social media and digital engagement; channel strategy across the health and care system in England; print and electronic content and publishing; and strategic relationships across the health and care system. As DH Digital Leader she represents the DH on the cross-Government Digital Leaders forum. She previously headed up Internal, Corporate and Digital Communications for the DH.

Rachel is a Fellow of the RSA.


Presentation: Digital First

Using digital tools can offer significant benefits in releasing valuable time taken up with unnecessary face-to-face contact between patients and healthcare professionals. The 'Digital First' initiative aims to promote the use of technology in healthcare ensuring the same high standards but with cost efficiencies and in a way that offers patients more flexibility and choice.

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Jon Lindberg heads up the Intellect Healthcare Programme, where he leads industry engagement on behalf of 300 members with the Department of Health, NHS England and wider health and care community. His goal is to provide the industry with better opportunities to do business in the health and care IT market in the UK.

Jon has set up a formal partnership between industry and government to create a more vibrant health IT market, and is one of the founders of the 3millionlives telehealth campaign launched by the Prime Minister in December 2011. He is also a regular contributor to the Intellect blog, writes articles on current topics for various media outlets and websites and speaks at national and international conferences. Follow Jon on Twitter: @JonPTLindberg

Presentation: Creating the information architecture to support a digital NHS

Information is vital to support high-quality healthcare yet currently the way we capture, share and use information is at least a decade behind wider society. Learning from examples of applications we use every day this presentation will explore how we can create the information architecture to realise the true potential of a digital NHS.

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John Cruickshank is a Consultant Director at 2020Health and an independent strategic expert in health IT and telehealth, operating at the complex interface between government, NHS and industry. Since 2010, John has authored six influential and authoritative reports published by 2020Health. These reports cover a spectrum of nationally significant issues across IT, telehealth and electronic health records.

His most recent 2020Health report was 'Making Connections – a transatlantic exchange to support the adoption of digital health between the US VHA and England's NHS', the foundational report to the Leadership Exchange programme between the organisations.

John's career has also included leadership roles in the healthcare practices of major systems integrators and consultancies. In addition to his work with 2020Health, he advises public and private sector organisations committed to the strategic use of information and telehealth technologies in healthcare.

John is a graduate in economics and management science from St John's College, Cambridge.


Presentation: Integration and digital health – how to turn international best practice into local NHS reality

The session will draw on key lessons learnt from the NHS Exchange Programme with the US Veterans Health Administration, a global leader in adopting digital health to improve patient outcomes. It will provide NHS commissioners and providers with valuable insight into best practice.

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