Millions of patients can now track their prescriptions
thanks to the rollout of a new feature in the NHS App helping to
reduce unnecessary calls and visits to pharmacies.
NHS England today announced that nearly 1,500 high street
chemists – including every Boots in England – are now offering
the service, which enables patients to check on their
prescriptions through real-time “Amazon-style” updates.
Almost half (45%) of phone calls to community pharmacies are
estimated to be from patients asking if their prescription is
ready, with the new service helping to free up time for
pharmacists to provide advice to patients.
Instead of phoning up, patients can instead track their
prescriptions by logging in to the app to see if their medicines
are “ready to collect” or “dispatched by pharmacy” if they are
being delivered.
The service is expected to be made available to nearly 5,000 more
pharmacies over the next 12 months – covering 60% of those in
England.
NHS App users are also being encouraged to use the app during the
bank holiday weekend to order repeat prescriptions or check
medical advice.
For non-urgent medical help, people can contact NHS 111 and those
in life-threatening emergencies should call 999.
Dr Vin Diwakar, Clinical Transformation Director at NHS
England, said:
“We know that people want more control over how they manage their
healthcare and the new prescription tracking feature in the NHS
App offers exactly that.
“You will now get a near real-time update in the app that lets
you know when your medicine is ready so you can avoid unnecessary
trips or leaving it until the last minute to collect.
“The new Amazon-style feature will also help to tackle the
administrative burden on pharmacists, so that they can spend more
of their time providing health services and advice to patients
rather than updates on the status of their prescriptions.”
The rollout follows plans for millions of patients to receive a
cost-of-living boost as the government froze prescription charges
for the first time in 3 years, putting money back into the
pockets of working people.
Putting the latest technology in the hands of patients and staff
is at the heart of the government's plans to cut waiting lists
and improve care through the Plan for Change.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, , said:
"If patients can track the journey of their food shop, they
should be able to do the same with their prescriptions.
“By harnessing the power and efficiency of modern tech, we're
saving patients time, driving productivity and freeing up
hardworking pharmacists to do what they do best – helping
patients, not providing status updates.
“This is just one example of our mission to shift the NHS from
analogue to digital as we continue to push our health service
into the modern age through our Plan for Change.”
Latest data shows the NHS App now has 37.4 million registered
users with an average of 11.4 million people logging in each
month to manage their healthcare.
The new prescription tracker builds on another app feature which
allows people without a nominated pharmacy to use a barcode to
collect their prescription – with an average of 2.1 million views
of digital prescription barcodes each month.
Prescriptions for people who have already set up a nominated
pharmacy are sent electronically to their chosen pharmacy,
meaning they don't need a barcode or paper prescription for
collection.
The number of repeat prescriptions ordered through the app has
also increased by 40% from 3.9 million in April 2024 to 5.5
million in April 2025.
Anne Higgins, Pharmacy Director at Boots, said:
“We know our patients are looking for more convenient ways to
manage their repeat prescriptions, which is why we're pleased to
partner with NHS England to launch these new updates on the NHS
App and through Boots Online Prescriptions.
“For the first time, when a patient orders their prescription via
the NHS App and they've nominated a Boots pharmacy to dispense
it, they can view its journey at every key step of the
process.
“This will remove the need for patients to call our pharmacy team
for updates on their prescription so they can spend more time
with patients and deliver vital services like NHS Pharmacy
First.”
This prescription tracking feature is just one of many planned
improvements to the NHS App, which will soon expand to offer
patients more appointment options and greater choice as part of
the government's commitment to put patients in control of their
healthcare and reduce waiting lists.
More details on how to register with the NHS App are available at
www.nhs.uk/nhs-app.
