UCLH launches app to help staff manage menopause symptoms

Doctors at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) and University College London have developed an app that helps clinicians to manage menopause patients’ symptoms.

MENO.pause uses national and international guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), British Menopause Society (BMS) and the British Gynaecological Cancer Society (BGCS) to help healthcare professionals provide evidence-based treatment options.

The app, which first went live at UCLH on 30 April 2025 and launched officially on 23 July 2025, is a web-based tool developed in collaboration with and hosted on the technology platform Clinibee, a platform designed to streamline clinical pathways, referrals, and decision-making in healthcare.

Dr Shibani Nicum, honorary medical oncologist at UCLH and associate professor of oncology UCL, founder and project lead for MENO.pause, said: “We are committed to providing the highest quality menopause care across the country and are delighted to have launched the MENO.pause app, which transforms national menopause guidance into clear, step-by-step decision-making support.

“MENO.pause, has been built by a national team of experts to help clinicians manage natural, early, and cancer-related menopause, and to deal with complex hormone replacement therapy (HRT) decisions and unscheduled bleeding as well as providing guidance for those with a cancer risk, for example women who carry BRCA genes, which are associated with breast cancers.

“With up to 13 million women currently going through menopause in the UK and too few trained specialists, the MENO.pause app helps to meet the need for improved access to high quality advice by providing information on a wide range of treatments in one place. We hope that women can really understand and share in decision making around their menopause care.”

The app is designed for use in primary care and hospital settings with the hope that it will promote improved local access to high quality menopause advice, reducing the need for unnecessary tests or hospital visits.

During a consultation with a patient, clinicians are guided to answer a series of questions and input information about a patient’s symptoms, medical history, and any known genetic variations.

Without the use of AI, the app draws on the information received along with the menopause management guidelines to provide options for the patient.

The app works alongside existing data systems used within healthcare, such as Optum, making it easy for clinicians to access and incorporate by using the app alongside their usual methods of working during a patient consultation.

The app has been funded by North Central London Cancer Alliance, UCLH Charity, BGCS and an unrestricted grant from GSK.

Ali Malik, managing director at North Central London Cancer Alliance, said: “This app is a strong example of the kind of high-quality, practical tool the fund was created to enable—helping clinicians provide timely, accurate treatment for women experiencing menopause.

“Importantly, it also supports the specific needs of women affected by cancer: those who enter early menopause as a result of their treatment, and those with an increased genetic risk, ensuring they too receive personalised and appropriate care.”