Tens of millions extra sufferers throughout England are benefitting from simpler entry to their well being data and medical providers by means of 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 common free well being apps of 2022 – with extra individuals accessing its vary of options, together with over 65 million GP file views. The federal government 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 presents a digital entrance door for interacting with the NHS and has seen a number of latest options launched within the final 12 months – empowering sufferers to entry providers from the consolation of their properties.
Well being and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay mentioned:
Know-how 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 large potential to modernise providers for sufferers and employees.
Within the final 12 months alone 21 million repeat prescriptions have been ordered by means of the app, saving precious time for clinicians and serving to individuals entry their therapy as simply as doable.
On prime of this we’ve added revolutionary 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 simpler, personalised care. If you have not already I would encourage you to obtain the app and see the way it might help you entry the providers you want.
The NHS App is supporting hardworking NHS employees as they work tirelessly to clear the Covid backlogs, liberating up precious clinician time in addition to empowering sufferers to have larger management over their well being and care data.
A complete of 1.7 million GP appointments had been booked by means of the NHS App this 12 months and a file breaking 22 million repeat prescriptions ordered, up from 9 million over the identical interval final 12 months. 128,000 individuals additionally registered their organ donation determination by means of the NHS App.
Sufferers in lots of elements of the nation are additionally capable of view and handle their hospital appointments on the app – serving to to construct a contemporary, digital NHS. The brand new options embrace 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 brand 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 accessible by March 2023 – and has been used over 800,000 instances.
Lords Minister For Know-how Nick Markham mentioned:
Tens of millions of sufferers have continued to enroll to the NHS App, serving to to generate a file variety of views and modernise how our well being service works.
We are going to proceed to innovate and incorporate new options to make sure that sufferers can entry handy, top quality care when and the place they want it.
Simon Bolton, Interim Chief Govt at NHS Digital, mentioned:
The NHS App continues to alter the best way individuals in England entry healthcare providers. Because it was launched 4 years in the past, hundreds of thousands of individuals have used it to e book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and think about GP data.
We have additionally added new options to the app to assist individuals handle hospital appointments, e book Covid vaccinations and obtain messages from GPs. The NHS App is a superb instance of how know-how can be utilized to assist individuals take management of their healthcare and entry NHS providers shortly and simply.”
Dr Vin Diwakar, medical director for transformation at NHS England, mentioned:
It is improbable that the NHS App is already within the pockets of hundreds of 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 rework the NHS App right into a entrance door for the NHS, with many thrilling new options and modifications deliberate – delivering on the NHS’ Lengthy Time period Plan dedication to proceed to harness the facility of know-how for sufferers and employees – which stays on the coronary heart of our plans to innovate affected person look after the twenty first century.”
Individuals also can obtain notifications from their GPs, a function which has been rolled out throughout almost 2,000 practices. Due to this effort over 700,000 messages to replace sufferers together with appointment reminders and check outcomes have been efficiently processed.
Individuals are additionally benefitting from the flexibility to e book a Covid vaccine appointment by means of the NHS App. Greater than 28,000 bookings have been made by way of this route in simply 4 weeks because the function was added in November, accounting for 9% of all bookings since this function was enabled.
Thanks to those form of options, hundreds of thousands of persons 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 accessible subsequent 12 months will guarantee sufferers can entry extra NHS providers at their fingertips – together with reserving their flu vaccination and accessing hospital correspondence, similar to pre-consultation questionnaires.