John Farenden

John is a Chartered Engineer with degrees in Computation and Information Systems Design. He has worked in the field of health informatics for 30 years, operating at all levels of the NHS in all four UK countries. He has worked for technology suppliers and large and small consulting businesses throughout his career, including time on secondment as Deputy Head of Information Policy for the NHS in England.
Before taking retirement in 2023 he spent 5 years working at NHS England where he led a programme of work integrating systems to create a shared care record for patients as well as being involved in a number of other national programme boards. In 2021 he commissioned the development of a patient-mediated International Patient Summary proof of concept in response to the G7 health ministers commitment to the IPS, and has also led workshops on the International Patient Summary at MEDINFO in Sydney in 2023 and at the International Congress of Military Medicine in Brisbane in 2024.
Since retiring from NHS England in 2023 he has worked as a consultant with the UK and Australian military health teams and the WHO, as well as local NHS organisations. He is a member of openEHR International, a lay member of the Interweave Partnership Management , co-Chair of INTEROPen, and a member of Health Data Research UK (North) Executive Committee. He is a long time Member of the British Computer Society having first registered in 1977.