By: Kimberly Rodrigues
More than 33 million individuals, comprising three-quarters of the adult population in England, have already registered with the NHS App. Enhanced with new features and functionalities, the App simplifies health management, and a fresh campaign by NHS England aims to boost its usage among more people.
With options such as viewing prescribed medications, booking vaccine appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions, and accessing NHS 111 online, the NHS App is changing the way that people can access and manage their health records for themselves, a press release by the NHS said.
Many users of the NHS App first downloaded it during the Covid-19 pandemic to access the Covid travel pass. But now, the latest features of the NHS App are helping people to feel more in control of managing their health than ever before.
You can use the App to:
● View your prescribed medication and request repeat prescriptions, to pick up at your chosen local pharmacy – without needing a paper prescription.
● View your GP records, which can include information about appointments you’ve had, immunisations and your specific health conditions.
● Find your NHS number
You can also check symptoms using NHS 111 online via the App, find local NHS services – such as urgent care, pharmacies, and urgent treatment centres – and even browse through more general information about medication or medical conditions.
Almost half of people signed up to the NHS App already use it regularly, with 25.8 million logins in November 2023 – the equivalent of 10 every second. The new NHS campaign aims to raise awareness of the many possible uses of the App and encourage even more users, by showing how it can save people time and help them feel in control of their health.
Healthcare professionals in the community are increasingly seeing the benefits of the NHS App for patients, who are able to manage different aspects of their health with greater ease and often with less need for direct contact with their GP surgery. Over the last five years, a total of 66.1 million repeat prescriptions have been ordered through the App, saving valuable time for patients and clinicians.
Dr Farzana Hussein, GP said, “I would encourage everyone to try the NHS App again. I know for many of my patients it’s something they simply don’t think of using, or don’t know about the new functions it has, but when I’ve shown people what it can do and when I used it myself, I realised how easy it is to use. People have been very positive about it after using it. Especially during the winter when we might need more frequent repeat prescriptions or want to find out about symptoms we’re experiencing, it can be so useful. We’re on our phones all the time in our daily lives, and we’re busy – so it’s a great time saver, helping people to feel on top of their health and in control.”
For more information including how to download the NHS App visit www.nhs.uk/nhsapp or scan the QR code.
