Background: 

On the NHS App provides a simple and secure way for people to access a range of NHS services on a smartphone or a tablet. The app is currently available for download with some functionality until each GP surgery is connected. The aim is to develop an App that will be can be integrated into patient pathways as well as allow developers to build enhancements to support specific areas such as communities, conditions, demographic groups or languages in order to give better patient care. The app is being piloted in Bexley, South East London with on-going evaluation by NHS Digital. It will be rolled out across the country from March 2019.

Key features of the NHS app: 

• Book an appointment/order repeat prescription

Patients that are registered to GP surgeries that have signed up to the app will be able to book their GP appointment using this platform. They will also be able to order their repeat prescriptions in a far more efficient manner than before.

• Symptom checking and triage 

Users of the app are able to check their symptoms and the app will triage these symptoms and help to advise an appropriate course of action.

• NHS Login

The NHS App login, also known as the Citizen ID, creates a secure linkage to enable users to access services. A simple process for ID checking and matching is simple and completed entirely online.

Pan London Strategy

Funded by NHS Digital, the NHS App has been tested by more than 3000 patients across 16 London CCGs as part of alpha and beta development stages. London STPs, CCGs, Primary Care Networks and patient groups have helped to shape the NHS app in both its developmental and deployment stages.

Test patient profiles were created to test usability based on changeable patient demographics to ensure the app is accessible to all patients. Patient and staff feedback has been collated and to inform product development throughout the design and build phases of the app. In the Alpha phase, prototype solutions were tested to evaluate the need of users. The app was developed in the beta phase against the demands of a live environment, requiring an understanding of how to build and scale to meet user’s demands.

The NHS app is tested in phases in GP surgeries across the UK.