Started: September 2015
Website: www.beautifulinformation.org
Twitter: @beautinf
Location: East Kent University Hospitals NHS

An example of the NHS innovating from within, Beautiful Information is developing digital tools that are transforming existing models of medical care.

Dr Marc Farr is Director of Information at an NHS trust and one of Health Service Journal’s Top 50 Innovators. He believes that data should be intuitive, compelling and engaging. So he created Operational Control Centre, a ‘performance dashboard’ app that collates near-real-time NHS data in fast-moving medical environments.

Information about available beds in A&E, hospital waiting times and patients’ specific clinical needs is instantly available and easy to interpret. Updated every minute, this crucial handheld data informs decision-making and planning, helps manage quality and efficiency and has a tangible impact on patient outcomes.

The potential for hospital management is huge. A recent Croydon case study reduced pressure on beds by nearly 20 per cent and Marc is confident that the wider impact of Beautiful Information’s research could 'create a new paradigm' for healthcare. In this case, beauty really does lie in the detail.