Since its launch in 2024, LUCI – Locating Useful Clinical Information – has saved healthcare professionals’ time worth an estimated £380,000, helping them make more informed decisions and improve patient care across south London. Following the tool’s success, Maudsley Charity has awarded additional funding to support its continued development and use.
LUCI is a clinical insights tool that presents clinicians and managers with data from the Trust’s electronic patient record to help them make informed decisions about the clinical care of their patients and the service delivery models that underlie them.
LUCI currently works with data from the Trust within the CRIS system – a NIHR BRC: Maudsley informatics initiative which holds data from electronic health records (EHRs) in a de-identified format. It applies natural language processing and open source visualisation tools developed within the CogStack platform which is also supported by NIHR BRC: Maudsley in collaboration with NIHR BRC: UCLH and partner trusts.
The additional funding will enable the tool to continue supporting mental healthcare across South London for a further 18 months. and allow LUCI to expand its use of advanced analytics. This includes supporting the appropriate use of long-acting injectable medications, improving the monitoring of medicines to prevent adverse effects and improving physical health monitoring.
Over the past 12 months, it has reduced the time spent on administrative tasks, helped address inequalities and highlighted variation in care processes and outcomes. Recognised by King’s Health Partners (KHP) as a key priority, LUCI has now transitioned into a business-as-usual service and provides regular data updates to clinical teams.
User surveys also demonstrate substantial improvements in perceived ease of use, increasing from 59% to 89% of users. Improvements were also reported in the clarity of information, learnability and overall user-friendliness, showing that the new interface is more intuitive and easier to navigate.
Professor Derek Tracy, Chief Medical Officer at South London and Maudsley said:
“I’m really pleased that LUCI has been extended for a further two years. It gives us a wonderful opportunity to build on the progress we have already made. The use of clinical data to inform our practice, understand care models at scale, improve clinical effectiveness and support research is central to our new clinical strategy. By using reliable data to identify where care can be improved, we can develop targeted interventions, measure their effectiveness and make a meaningful difference to patient outcomes.”
Natasha Wright, Programme Lead at Maudsley Charity said:
“We are proud to continue our funding for LUCI. During our first grant, we saw how LUCI played an important role in supporting data-driven decision-making, helping clinicians and services to identify unmet need and variation in care. We are excited to see how the continued funding can allow the service to become embedded, as well as extending the uses of the system and developing new capabilities such as data extraction and analytics.”
The programme will also help identify patients who may benefit from more specialised interventions.
LUCI supports a multi-agency response involving mental health services, primary care, Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) and the acute sector, with the aim of improving care for underserved populations.
Support from KHP is bringing together organisations across south east London to align clinical priorities and embed LUCI consistently across services, helping to build a coordinated approach to care. The programme will also continue its partnership with the NIHR BRC: Maudsley, whose academic research has contributed significantly to LUCI’s development.
David Codling, Consultant Psychiatrist at SLaM and Clinical Co-Lead, Clinical Informatics Service, said:
“We are delighted that LUCI has received a further two-year extension. This will allow us to build on the progress already made and continue using trusted, responsive data to support frontline clinicians. Ultimately, it will help us identify patients who may benefit from more specialised interventions and deliver care that is shaped around their individual needs.”
