Millions more patients will receive appointment reminders,
screening invitations, and test results directly to their
smartphones as the NHS turbocharges its digital revolution to
make it easier for patients to access care.
The NHS App is set to become the go-to method of communication
between the health system and patients, avoiding the need for at
least 50 million costly letters to go through the postal system.
Driven by over £50 million investment, 270 million messages are
expected to be sent through the NHS App this year – an increase
of 70 million on last financial year, saving an estimated £200m
across the system over the next 3 years.
This latest development forms part of the government's shift from
analogue to digital, to give patients better access to manage
their healthcare journey and make informed decisions about their
care.
In 2023/24, there were around 8 million missed appointments in
elective care, and around 30% of people missed a screening
appointment. Push notifications will remind patients about
upcoming appointments and relay important messages, allowing for
faster communication and reducing the risk of these missed
appointments and boosting productivity across the system.
Currently, almost 20 million are opted in to receive healthcare
messages via the NHS App and could soon benefit from this latest
expansion. The NHS is appealing to patients to download the
NHS App and turn on notifications to make sure they receive
important updates
Health and Social Care Secretary, , said:
“People are living increasingly busy lives and want to access
information about their health at the touch of a button, rather
than having to wait weeks for letters that often arrive too late.
This government is bringing our analogue health service into the
digital age, so that being a patient in the NHS is as convenient
as online banking or ordering a takeaway.
“The NHS still spends hundreds of millions of pounds on stamps,
printing, and envelopes. By modernising the health service, we
can free up huge amounts of funding to reinvest in the frontline.
“Through the investment and reform in our Plan for Change, we
will make the NHS App the front door to the health service and
put power in the hands of patients.”
As part of this digital-first transformation, over the next three
years, patients in England will receive all appropriate NHS
messages through the App first. Where app messaging is not
available, communications will be sent via SMS and then by letter
as a last resort. This means that people without access to
smartphones and elderly patients can still receive messages
through traditional routes, ensuring that no vital information is
missed. Those without smartphone access will also benefit from
phone lines being freed up, with many patients able to get the
information they need digitally.
Accessible communications will continue to be supported for those
with specific requirements.
The implementation of digital services across the health service
is already well underway. Last year, the national vaccination
programmes delivered 85 million messages via digital channels,
and later this year, national screening programmes for breast,
bowel and cervical cancer will also be making the switch.
Dr Vin Diwakar, Clinical Transformation Director at NHS
England, said:
“More than 11 million of us now log into the NHS App every month
to manage our healthcare, whether ordering a repeat prescription
or seeking advice on a medical condition.
“We're supporting the switch from analogue to digital by
harnessing the power of digital communication channels so that
millions more patients can receive important messages about their
health direct to their smartphones – all you need to do is enable
notifications in the NHS App to see and open messages.
“The NHS App is already empowering patients by giving them more
information and now by increasingly becoming a world-class way of
communicating – which will save millions of pounds and free up
resources for patient care. I'd encourage anyone who hasn't got
the app on their smartphone to download it now.”
This latest development comes in addition to work currently
underway to improve user experience in the App. Through various
expansions, users will soon be able to add appointments to the
calendar on their phone and request help from their GP
surgery. It will also seek to drive increased usage
through faster log in methods, such as Face ID.
With NHS App services now live in 87% of hospitals across
England, delivered in line with commitments made as part of the
Elective Care Reform Plan, patients will have greater control of
their elective care, improving access and modernising NHS as part
of the government's Plan for Change.
