As we reported earlier, the government have published their new Plan for Digital Health and Social Care bringing the health sector into the 21st century.
Part of the Plan will also include a revamp of the NHS App thus improving people’s access to valuable and useful information, providing them with better and more joined-up care.
Over 28 million people have now downloaded the app on their phone, so in view of creating a “digital front door to NHS services”, a range of new features will be added, meaning by March 2023, NHS App users will be able to:
- Book Covid-19 vaccines through the NHS App, as well as the NHS website.
- Receive NHS notifications and messaging, including reminders and alerts for Covid-19 vaccine booking and prescription readiness.
- Start to see notifications and messaging sent from their GP through the NHS App.
- Start to view and manage hospital elective care appointments across participating trusts.
- See new information within their GP record by default, with the ability to request retrospective information at their practice.
- Access a user profile where they can set and manage contact details and register with a GP practice.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We are embarking on a radical programme of modernisation that will make sure the NHS is set up to meet the challenges of 2048 – not 1948, when it was first established.
“This Plan builds on our Data Strategy to revolutionise digital health and care, which will enable patients to manage hospital appointments from the NHS App and take more control of their own care at home, picking up problems sooner and seeking help earlier.
“Ensuring more personalisation and better join up of the system will benefit patients, free up clinician time, and help us to bust the Covid backlogs.”
The government also plan to add features to the NHS App that will improve users’ access to screening services, improve access to the latest clinical trials, enable reminders, and improve the user journey when accessing child health records.
Simon Bolton, Chief Executive at NHS Digital, said: “Technology is central in empowering patients and giving them more control when it comes to their health and wellbeing.
“The NHS App has changed the way millions of adults in England access healthcare services in the three years since its launch and these new features will go further to improve how patients can manage their health and to reduce the burden on the frontline.
“We are committed to working with our partners across health and social care to deliver the digitally enabled transformation of the NHS and create a system which provides better outcomes and access for patients.”
More information about the government’s new Digital Health and Social Care Plan is available here.
Also, don’t forget to sign up for our Digital Health virtual event on the 21st of July, if you want to learn more about the best digital innovations happening in the NHS.
