Map of Medicine

M2M was incorporated and funded by UCL's wholly owned technology transfer company UCL Biomedica and originated from the Hampstead Campus of the Medical School based at the Royal Free Hospital.

M2M have now signed a contract with Fujitsu Services to provide the Map of Medicine across southern England as part of the National Programme for IT, the NHS 10 year upgrade of IT systems.

The brainchild of Dr Owen Epstein (Royal Free and University College Medical School), the Map took four years to develop and involved over 300 doctors and nurses. It draws upon swathes of information previously locked within the NHS to model over 300 different 'patient journeys' covering all major specialities including accident and emergency, surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology and palliative care.

Each journey visually presents best practice across the healthcare system from initial patient presentation at a GP surgery or A&E through to specialist consultation and follow-up care.

A clinician using the Map will now be able to show patients their treatment options and implications, draw on best practice guidance for each stage of the journey, and will also directed to further information sources such as the National Library for Health.

The Map of Medicine can be customised to work in all healthcare settings from the local GP surgery to education and training sessions, enabling all NHS organisations to develop local best practice maps without the huge task of starting from scratch.

The Map will mean that clinicians who find themselves in unfamiliar territory can draw on knowledge from other specialities, explained Dr Epstein: "Imagine if every NHS clinician knew what all clinicians know - the Map is the electronic 'glue' to bring local specialist knowledge together, acting as a virtual desktop consultant for healthcare professionals to use."

For a demonstration of the Map of Medicine use the link below.

Link: Map of Medicine