Millions extra sufferers throughout England are benefitting from simpler entry to their well being data and medical providers by the NHS App, as signal ups prime 30 million – together with seven million new signal ups in 2022.
The app, which launched 4 years in the past, was one of the crucial well-liked free well being apps of 2022 – with extra folks accessing its vary of options, together with over 65 million GP report views. The authorities has already met its goal to have 68% of individuals in England registered with the NHS App by March 2023 and is firmly on monitor to satisfy its second goal to have 75% of individuals registered by 2024.
The app provides a digital entrance door for interacting with the NHS and has seen a number of recent options launched within the final 12 months – empowering sufferers to entry providers from the consolation of their houses.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay mentioned:
Technology is remodeling the best way we use the NHS and with over 30 million signal ups to the NHS App throughout the nation, together with seven million this 12 months alone, there may be enormous potential to modernise providers for sufferers and workers.
In the final 12 months alone 21 million repeat prescriptions have been ordered by the app, saving precious time for clinicians and serving to folks entry their therapy as simply as potential.
On prime of this we now have added modern new options – from accessing GP data to reserving Covid jabs – which is able to assist us ease pressures on GPs and different main care providers and supply more practical, personalised care. If you have not already I’d encourage you to obtain the app and see the way it may also help you entry the providers you want.
The NHS App is supporting hardworking NHS workers as they work tirelessly to clear the Covid backlogs, liberating up precious clinician time in addition to empowering sufferers to have higher management over their well being and care data.
A complete of 1.7 million GP appointments have been booked by the NHS App this 12 months and a report breaking 22 million repeat prescriptions ordered, up from 9 million over the identical interval final 12 months. 128,000 folks additionally registered their organ donation determination by the NHS App.
Patients in lots of elements of the nation are additionally in a position to view and handle their hospital appointments on the app – serving to to construct a contemporary, digital NHS. The new options embody viewing all referrals and future hospital appointments in a single place, accessing supporting info for appointments -such as hospital maps – together with reserving, altering and cancelling appointments.
The new options can be found to sufferers at 20 NHS Trusts throughout the nation from York and Scarborough to Royal Cornwall – with one other 24 trusts anticipated to be out there by March 2023 – and has been used over 800,000 occasions.
Lords Minister For Technology Nick Markham mentioned:
Millions of sufferers have continued to enroll to the NHS App, serving to to generate a report variety of views and modernise how our well being service works.
We will proceed to innovate and incorporate new options to make sure that sufferers can entry handy, prime quality care when and the place they want it.
Simon Bolton, Interim Chief Executive at NHS Digital, mentioned:
The NHS App continues to alter the best way folks in England entry healthcare providers. Since it was launched 4 years in the past, thousands and thousands of individuals have used it to guide GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and think about GP data.
We’ve additionally added new options to the app to assist folks handle hospital appointments, guide Covid vaccinations and obtain messages from GPs. The NHS App is a good instance of how expertise can be utilized to assist folks take management of their healthcare and entry NHS providers shortly and simply.”
Dr Vin Diwakar, medical director for transformation at NHS England, mentioned:
It’s unbelievable that the NHS App is already within the pockets of thousands and thousands of individuals, offering quick access to essential on a regular basis NHS providers like repeat prescriptions and GP appointment bookings.
Our imaginative and prescient is to remodel the NHS App right into a entrance door for the NHS, with many thrilling new options and modifications deliberate – delivering on the NHS’ Long Term Plan dedication to proceed to harness the ability of expertise for sufferers and workers – which stays on the coronary heart of our plans to innovate affected person take care of the twenty first century.”
People may also obtain notifications from their GPs, a function which has been rolled out throughout almost 2,000 practices. Thanks to this effort over 700,000 messages to replace sufferers together with appointment reminders and check outcomes have been efficiently processed.
People are additionally benefitting from the power to guide a Covid vaccine appointment by the NHS App. More than 28,000 bookings have been made through this route in simply 4 weeks for the reason that function was added in November, accounting for 9% of all bookings since this function was enabled.
Thanks to those sort of options, thousands and thousands of individuals are benefitting from simpler and faster entry to NHS providers – and the federal government will proceed to construct on the progress which has already been made.
New options within the app out there subsequent 12 months will guarantee sufferers can entry extra NHS providers at their fingertips – together with reserving their flu vaccination and accessing hospital correspondence, equivalent to pre-consultation questionnaires.