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NHS App prescriptions feature attracts heavy early usage

29/03/24

Mark Say Managing Editor

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NHS App on smartphone screen
Image source: NHS Digital

NHS England has said that more than 2.7 million people have used a new prescription feature in the NHS App since its launch two months ago.

The feature patients in England to see when their prescriptions have been issued and view their prescribed medication.

Since the launch, there have been 18.4 million views of prescriptions by people with a nominated pharmacy to which their medication details are sent.

There were another 1.2 million views by people without a nominated pharmacy. These users are now able to use a barcode in the app to collect their prescription from any pharmacy instead of needing a paper version.

New figures also show that the NHS App now has more than 34 million registered users, with monthly logins rising by 79% in the last year from 16.2 million in February 2023 to 29 million in February 2024.

The number of repeat prescriptions ordered through the app grew by 44% from 2022 to 2023, with an average of 3.3 million now requested every month.

Reducing administration

Dr Vin Diwakar, national transformation director at NHS England, said: “We’re delighted to see so many people making use of the NHS App’s new prescription feature.

“The service is one of many features on the app, which is helping to reduce the administrative burden for general practice as well as making it easier for people to access NHS services.

“New features are being added to the NHS App regularly as the NHS encourages more people to use the app in their everyday lives – it is much more handy for patients and can help free up time on the frontline.”

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