Millions more to get test results via NHS app, government says

The health secretary says the NHS's move to digital is like "online banking or ordering a takeaway"

The NHS app will become the default method of communication for millions more patients in England and save the health service £200m over the next three years, the government has said.

More test results, screening invitations and appointment reminders will be sent directly to smartphones as part of a £50m investment in the app, in a move away from traditional communication methods such as letters.

It is estimated that at least 50 million letters are sent to patients each year.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that people who cannot access app messaging - including elderly patients - will receive text messages and then a letter as a last resort, and NHS phone lines would be freed up.

The department says 270 million messages will be sent through the NHS app this financial year - an increase of 70 million on the previous year.

Push notifications will provide appointment reminders to patients to try to reduce the risk of no attendance - with around eight million missed appointments in elective care missed in 2023/24.

Work is also under way to enable users of the app to add appointments to their phone calendars and request help from their local GP surgeries.

Figures show that more than 11 million people in the UK log into the NHS app every month, while almost 20 million are opted in to receive healthcare messages from the app.

It is hoped the changes will give patients better access to manage their healthcare journey and make informed decisions about their care.

NHS app services, which were launched in December 2018, are now used in 87% of hospitals across England.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said further investment in the app would bring the NHS into the digital age so that being a patient was as "convenient as online banking or ordering a takeaway".

He added that moving away from paper communication could free up funding for front line services.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patient's Association, said the upgrade was a "significant step in modernising how patients receive information".

Prof Phil Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, said the move to a digital-first approach "must not discriminate against or alienate those many patients who cannot use or do not have access to digital technology such as tablets and smartphones".

He added: "We must guard against creating a a situation in which patients who are vulnerable, elderly and possibly without access to digital communication are forgotten and left behind – as they already are in society. "

The announcement follows measures unveiled by the government in January that it planned to allow more patients in England to book treatments and appointments through the app.

And last month, NHS England announced millions of patients would be able to get "Amazon-style" tracking updates on their prescriptions through the app, to check if their medicines are ready to collect or have been despatched for delivery.