NHS England has appointed an east London GP as director of primary care.
Dr Arvind Madan is currently a partner of the Hurley Group, which runs around 20 GP practices across London.
The role will include backing up NHS England national medical director Sir Bruce Keogh as his deputy, NHS England said.
Dr Madan will continue practising as a GP with the Hurley Group but will step down from his CEO role at medical technology company, Hurley Innovations.
His appointment was one of three new senior roles announced by NHS England yesterday; the others were a national cancer director and a director of specialised commissioning.
Cally Palmer, chief executive of the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, will take on the cancer brief, while the specialised commissioning remit will be taken on by Dr Jonathan Fielden, an intensive care medicine consultant and former medical director of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Writing for Pulse earlier this month, Dr Madan explained how allowing one million patients to consult their GP online solved the appointments shortage at his group of GP practices.
Despite running 20 GP practices, the Hurley Group has just four partners, including Dr Madan as well as former RCGP chair Professor Clare Gerada. Professor Gerada also worked for NHS England, as an adviser on its London general practice transformation programme, but has stepped down from that role.
Dr Madan was among the GPs nominated for the 2015 Pulse Power 50 but he did not make the final list.
