King’s kidney health app shortlisted for award
19 March 2025 - The app offers physio-led virtual exercise, education, nutrition and wellbeing programmes
King’s has been nominated for its work on helping develop Kidney Beam, the world’s first clinically-proven kidney-specific rehabilitation app, which helps people with chronic kidney disease to become more physically active and improve their health.
The renal service has been shortlisted in the ‘Optimising Clinical Pathways through Digital’ category at the HSJ Digital Awards 2025 as an example of a digital solution that is shaping the future of healthcare across the UK.
Kidney Beam is the only scientifically proven virtual alternative to face-to-face, physio-led kidney rehabilitation globally. Its cutting-edge tech platform features over 350 kidney-specific classes, a weekly live class schedule, several signature programmes designed for different disease stages, plus a comprehensive kidney rehab intervention developed by King’s College Hospital. This unique offering allows Kidney Beam to deliver the only cost-effective, kidney-specific exercise and lifestyle management app scientifically proven to improve health outcomes for individuals with kidney disease.
Professor Sharlene Greenwood, Consultant Physiotherapist at King’s Kidney Rehab Team and Co-Founder of Kidney Beam, said: “We are honoured to be shortlisted for this award, which reflects the dedication and expertise of the multidisciplinary team who have contributed to the Kidney Beam intervention.”
“We’ve built the app with expert input from across the entire kidney care spectrum, including dietitians, nephrologists, transplant teams, renal nurse specialists, patients, pharmacists, dialysis teams, social workers and of course, the brilliant physiotherapists from the King’s kidney rehab team, who lead our online exercise and lifestyle classes in a way that is specially tailored for people living with kidney disease”.
Professor Greenwood, alongside co-founder Katie Bell, spearheaded the development of the Kidney Beam app in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, when clinically vulnerable kidney patients forced to shield were at high risk of being impacted by sedentary behaviour. The app, backed by Kidney Research UK, the National Kidney Federation and several patient advocacy groups, offers physio-led virtual exercise, education, nutrition and wellbeing programmes tailored specifically for people with kidney disease.
Kidney Beam was scientifically proven in a landmark clinical trial published in The Lancet Digital Health to drive significant improvement in patient-reported quality-of-life among those given access to a special 12-week digital kidney rehabilitation programme, as well as cost efficiencies for the NHS by reducing demand for healthcare services.
The app has gone on to be named as one of the 2024 NHS Innovation Accelerator cohort and winner of the “Company Generating the Greatest NHS Benefit” award from the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, in addition to this latest nomination from the HSJ.
The HSJ Digital Awards shine a light on teams and organisations driving meaningful change through technology, improving patient outcomes, streamlining processes, and enhancing the overall quality of care. Being shortlisted is a testament to King’s College Hospital’s unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence in digital healthcare.
The winners will be revealed on 26 June 2025.