The NHS App and how it is scaling personalised and effective care

The NHS App is a digital front door to the NHS, enabling access, improving outcomes and efficiency of services. Recent enhancements have led to a boost in usage, as people are learning and appreciating that there is more it can do to help them manage their health.  By May 2024, interactions went to 34.5 million, with one in six citizens actively logging in. These improvements, driven by new functionalities tailored to user needs, are beginning to shift perceptions, making the App increasingly valuable for managing personal health.

However, the NHS App is still evolving and there is more functionality being developed. Since January 2023, this has been led by Joe Harrison, Chief Executive at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Director of Digital Channels at NHS England. In this article, Dr Amanda Begley, Director of Digital and Transformation and Anna King, Commercial Director, at the HIN South London examine the current state of the NHS App and discuss the role of collaboration in scaling personalised and effective care. They highlight the progress made and discuss future opportunities for enhancing the App’s impact on people’s health and healthcare delivery.

Moving towards patient-led digital services

At the recent Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference, Joe led a conversation on the national landscape of NHS digitisation and the potential of the NHS App. Patient-led digital services, such as the NHS App, are revolutionising the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system. The App has significantly streamlined processes like repeat prescriptions, handling approximately 4 million requests monthly out of a total of 26 million. Each prescription ordered through the App saves around three minutes of GP time, which is crucial for optimising clinical resources and reducing administrative burdens. The forthcoming addition of medical records to the App has already resulted in over 18 million logins in between May and June 2024, indicating a substantial demand for digital access to personal health information.

The App also enhances appointment adherence, with patients who book their own appointments being more likely to attend than those arranged by their service provider, further supporting proactive healthcare management. Similarly, using the NHS App for 111 services is seeing improvements in accuracy of triage over the telephone service hopefully leading to improved outcomes, whilst also being nine times more cost-effective for the NHS and four times faster for users, relieving pressure on non-digital service channels.

Collaborating to scale effective care

As we move towards 2025, scaling the functionality of the NHS App across the country becomes a priority in achieving more personalised and effective care. Recent developments indicate that 90 per cent of GP practices have now made medical records accessible through the App, reflecting a significant enhancement in digital health infrastructure and meeting targets set out in the NHS delivery plan. However, the journey towards widespread adoption is not without challenges. Some organisations remain sceptical about the NHS App’s potential to meet their local needs, opting instead to develop and rely on bespoke local apps. To address this, it is crucial to foster collaboration across NHS systems and integrate feedback from diverse stakeholders. The integration of local innovations with the national platform can help align regional practices with broader NHS goals, such as the NHS App roadmap, ensuring that the App evolves in tandem with the needs of both patients and healthcare providers.

Using patient insights to shape functionality

Incorporating patient insights into the development of the NHS App is essential for optimising its functionality and ensuring it meets user needs effectively. The recent report on patient perspectives of digital access to primary care, led by Amanda Begley, demonstrates the critical role of aligning digital health solutions with patient feedback. Patients have expressed a strong preference for accessible and user-friendly digital tools that facilitate better management of their health. By utilising these insights, the NHS App can be refined to enhance user experience and thereby encourage the spread of the App across the country.

The report indicated that patients have a strong desire for digital tools that offer seamless access to their health information and facilitate more proactive management of their care. The report highlighted that users value functionalities such as viewing medical records, managing appointments, and handling repeat prescriptions directly through the App. The findings emphasise the importance of a user-friendly interface. Patients expressed concerns about the complexity of existing digital platforms and the need for simpler, more intuitive designs that cater to a diverse range of users, including those with limited digital literacy.

Integrating patient feedback helps to align digital innovations with broader healthcare objectives and supports improvements already being delivered in the App, fostering a more cohesive system.

Conclusion

The NHS App is making great progress to increase usage by delivering what the public needs in terms of a ‘digital front-door’ to access prescriptions, health records and 111 advice. There is scope to make it even better, through the roadmap to add even more functionality and increase the services available through it. Collaboration across NHS systems, informed by patient perspectives, can drive adoption and utilisation, ultimately enhancing overall healthcare delivery and efficiency. By integrating local innovations with the national platform, the NHS App can better align with the varied needs of patients and healthcare providers alike. This collective approach, combined with insights from patients, will ensure that digital solutions remain responsive and relevant allowing the NHS App to become an core part of the healthcare system, delivering more personalised and effective care across the country.