Farrar to open CCIO Annual Conference

NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar is to give the opening keynote speech at the first CCIO Leaders Network Annual Conference, being held as part of EHI Live 2012 next week.

Farrar will announce that the NHS Confederation has become an official partner to eHealth Insider’s CCIO Leaders Network, which was set up to take forward the objectives of EHI’s campaign to establish chief clinical information officers in the NHS.

The CCIO Leaders Network Annual Conference is the UK’s first conference dedicated to bridging the gap between doctors and nurses and the technologists installing and running IT at all levels across the NHS.

The event will see clinical and nursing staff join IT colleagues and suppliers to explore ways to promote and develop clinical information leadership within the health service.

In his keynote speech, Farrar will focus on the benefits that the role of the CCIO can play in different care settings; encouraging clinicians to become more involved in data management and the use of information to improve patient care.

He will also state that the NHS Confederation is to become an official partner to the CCIO Leaders Network, joining other influential organisations such as the Royal College of Physicians and the British Computer Society.

Farrar said: "We have supported EHI’s CCIO Campaign from the outset. The experiences of the NHS over the past ten years show that strong clinical leadership plays a key role in almost all successful IT projects.

“With the NHS increasingly looking to make use of technology to improve patient care and deliver efficiencies, the CCIO role has become an important one for all our members.

“Becoming an official partner of EHI’s CCIO Campaign demonstrates our commitment to working with our members to develop clinical information leadership.

“I look forward to sharing my thoughts about how the NHS can recognise the importance of clinical involvement in data management and the use of information, and to hearing from delegates about what more they need from us."

The conference will run alongside the EHI Live 2012 conference and exhibition from 6-7 November 2012 at the NEC Birmingham.

It is free to attend and open to anyone interested in the essential role that clinicians have to play in the successful delivery of IT projects.

The range of sessions will look at the role of CCIOs in various NHS settings, explore how CCIOs and chief information officers can work together, and discuss the professional development needs of CCIOs.

Speakers will include many of the new CCIOs appointed as part of the EHI CCIO Campaign, who will provide their views and share their experiences on the role and benefits it can deliver.

Jon Hoeksma, editor of eHealth Insider said: “We believe that NHS information projects need to be designed and led by clinicians, which means investment by NHS organisations into high-profile, capable individuals to do the job.

“The CCIO Leaders Network Annual Conference will allow those clinicians already in CCIO roles, and those wanting to build a career focusing on using information to improve the quality of care, to come together to explore how to take this position to the next level and increase the number of appointments.

“This is also a chance for us to celebrate the success of the first year of EHI’s CCIO Leaders Network. Proof of its value is demonstrated by the fact that it is partnered by royal medical colleges and the BMA.

“While the NHS Confederation has always supported the campaign, the fact that it is now becoming an official partner is further confirmation of the campaign’s relevance and importance."