Why the NHS needs a single patient record to prepare for the AI era

In this episode of Digital Health Unplugged, Charlotte Refsum, director of health policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, explains why a single patient record is becoming increasingly important in the age of AI. Refsum tells Tammy Lovell, editor at Digital Health News, that as AI, data and digital technologies begin to reshape health systems, data unification is critical to support safer care, new models of delivery and a fundamentally different way of running the NHS. Drawing on her experience from the UK and health systems around the world, Refsum reflects on how digital could enable more integrated and preventative care, empower people to better manage their own health, and change the way patients interact with services through tools such as the NHS App. The conversation also explores the challenges standing in the way of this vision, including data sharing, public trust, interoperability and legacy systems, as well as discussing what to expect from the NHS 10 year health plan. Refsum will be delivering a keynote at Digital Health Rewired, to give her views on what comes next in the NHS’s shift to digitisation and prevention. The event is taking place at the Birmingham NEC on 24-25 March 2026. Free for NHS, public sector, charities, research and education. Commercial tickets start from £769+VAT. Register here. Guest: Charlotte Refsum, director of health policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change