THE NHS has released new figures which show that nearly 3 million people have used their app to manage their subscriptions since the launch of the new feature.
Prescription management was added to the app in January, allowing patients to see an overview of prescribed medication and see when their medicine has been issued.
The NHS has now released figures showing that prescriptions have been viewed more than 18.4 million times by patients with a nominated pharmacy, and another 1.2 million from those without a nominated pharmacy.
Those without are able to use a barcode provided by the app to collect their prescription from any pharmacy.
More than 34 million people were registered with the app and monthly logins rose by just under 80% in the last year.
Following the news, the NHS is encouraging residents to use the NHS app to manage their prescriptions and access health advice where possible, saving GPs up to three minutes per person per prescription.
Ordering orders through the app also saves an average of around 18 minutes of time for each patient.
The app also allows patients to see the average waiting time at their local services through the app, and many patients can also manage their hospital appointments through the app.
Six million appointments were viewed or managed via the app in February this year, an increase of 233% on the same period last year.
Two thirds of NHS acute trusts now offer digital management of appointments.
In recent weeks the government has announced a further £3.4 billion of funding for investment into new tech and digital transformation, which includes further expanding the NHS app as a point of access.
Dr Vin Diwakar, National Transformation Director, at NHS England said: “We’re delighted to see so many people making use of the NHS App’s new prescription feature.
“The service is one of many features on the app, which is helping to reduce the administrative burden for general practice as well as making it easier for people to access NHS services.
“New features are being added to the NHS App regularly as the NHS encourages more people to use the app in their everyday lives – it is much more handy for patients and can help free up time on the frontline.
“Three quarters of adults now have the NHS App in their pocket and I’d encourage you to tap the app, whether ordering a repeat prescription or checking the latest health advice.”
More information about registering for and using the NHS app is available via: nhs.uk/nhs-app/
