Digital health more prominent than ever as NHS App tops 30 million users

Seven million more people signed up to the NHS App in 2022, meaning that now more than 30 million people are benefiting from easier, digital access to their health records and potentially life-saving NHS services.

The app affords users access to a range of features and, last year, allowed people to book a total of 1.7 million GP appointments, a record-breaking 22 million repeat prescriptions, as well as 128,000 people confirming their organ donation decisions.

The NHS App is also helping people book their Covid-19 vaccines with more than 28,000 opting to book via the app in the first four weeks of the service being available back in November.

The app also enables patients to receive notifications from their GPs with over 700,000 messages being relayed to patients informing them about their test results, reminding them of appointments, and more.

This digital gateway to the NHS was opened four years ago when the app launched and has since become one of the most popular free health apps in the country – the Government has already reached its target of getting 68% of people in England to sign up to the app by March this year and is “firmly on track” to meet its next target of 75% of people being registered by next year.

Simon Bolton, Interim Chief Executive at NHS Digital, said: “The NHS App continues to change the way people in England access healthcare services. Since it was launched four years ago, millions of people have used it to book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions and view GP records.

“We’ve also added new features to the app to help people manage hospital appointments, book Covid vaccinations and receive messages from GPs. The NHS App is a great example of how technology can be used to help people take control of their healthcare and access NHS services quickly and easily.”

The health service is looking to add even more features to its app this year, enabling patients to access as much of the NHS as possible.