The Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) has appointed three new Non-Executive Directors to its Board with effect from May 2024. The new Directors have been recruited to help PHIN ensure it can continue to improve the information available for patients so that they can make more informed healthcare choices.

Jayne Scott, PHIN’s Chair said: “Replacing our outgoing members after they served their allotted terms was never going to be easy, but we were delighted with both the quality and quantity of people who applied to join our Board. We believe that we have appointed three outstanding candidates, each of whom brings a diverse skill set, approach and experience.

“I look forward to working alongside them as we continue to make the sector more transparent and achieve our vision that 'Everyone can make confident choices about their healthcare to get the best outcomes'.”

Ian Gargan, PHIN Chief Executive, added: “We are very committed to ensuring that our organisation represents the needs of different patients across the UK. We’re delighted that as well as attracting these excellent new directors, who have a variety of skills, we’ve also been able to expand the diversity of our Board.”

The new Board members are:

• Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, founder and CEO of Patients Know Best. He trained as a physician at the University of Cambridge; worked as a staff scientist at the National Institutes of Health; and was a management consultant to US hospitals at The Advisory Board Company. Mohammad is the author of seven books. In 2012, he was elected an Ashoka Fellow as a social entrepreneur for the contributions he has made to patient care.
• Helen Buckingham is a prominent figure in the world of healthcare strategy and policy, most recently having served as the Nuffield Trust Director of Strategy for 7 years. Prior to joining the Nuffield Trust she worked at Board level in the NHS for 15 years followed by 5 years in senior executive roles at Monitor and NHS Improvement. She also chairs National Voices, the leading coalition of health and social care charities in England.
• Prof Sam Shah is a clinician working across digital health, public health, technology and law. He has previously worked in strategy consulting, NHS leadership roles and worked with start-ups. He has an interest in health economics, and behaviour change. Sam was previously the Chief Medical Strategy Officer at online healthcare provider Numan and the NHS England Director of Digital Development.

Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, said: “I bring a combination of technical knowledge and first-hand experience of what it’s like to be a patient who needed to take accountability for their own health records. I will use this knowledge to contribute to the PHIN Board, so that patients are more informed.”

Helen Buckingham said: “I am looking forward to working with the rest of the PHIN Board in a strategic way to continue and develop their excellent work to deliver better information to patients and improve their ability to make an informed choice about their care.”

Sam Shah, said: “Having worked in the public and private sector in healthcare delivery, I understand the challenges faced by the sector and complexity for patients when navigating any health system. I look forward to supporting the PHIN Board in delivering the CMA Order and continuing to help the public make effective choices in accessing healthcare.” 

The new Directors replace Don Grocott and Professor Sir Cyril Chantler who stepped down from the PHIN Board in March, and Michael Hutchings and Professor Sir Norman Williams who will be stepping down in March 2025.