From 30 January 2024, patients in England can use the NHS App to view all their prescription details, order repeat prescriptions, and generate a barcode for medication collection. This is a significant step forward in improving visibility for patients, empowering them to be more actively involved in their healthcare.
The national rollout follows a successful pilot in late 2023 and now over 1 million patients have used the NHS App to view their prescriptions.
The new functionality allows patients to see:
items prescribed
the prescription type (repeat or one-off)
who the prescribing professional is
Patients without a nominated pharmacy can also generate a prescription barcode in their NHS App that can be shown to a pharmacy for collection without a paper prescription from their GP.
This service gives patients earlier visibility of exactly what their healthcare provider has prescribed for them and what they will collect/receive from pharmacies.
Patients may not see a confirmed digital prescription if:
it is prescribed but unavailable to you until a future date
it is cancelled
it was issued more than 6 months ago
it was prescribed for an inpatient, to be dispensed by the hospital pharmacy, during their stay
their pharmacy manages their repeat medication supply on a regular basis
Benefits of viewing prescriptions in the NHS App
Benefits for patients
patients can see all their prescription details in one secure place, giving them greater visibility and control of their healthcare
patients have confidence their prescription is being managed and can query issues earlier
patients don’t need to travel unnecessarily to collect paper tokens(if they have a non-nominated pharmacy)
Benefits for prescribers
prescribers may see a reduction in calls from patients to query prescription status as they can see it’s being managed
prescribers will no longer need to print prescription tokens, lowering costs and saving time
prescribers will need to send fewer text messages with prescription ID during out-of-hours prescribing, reducing SMS costs
Benefits for dispensers
dispensers may see a reduction in calls from patients to query prescription status as they can see it’s being managed
dispensers will save time as prescription queries can be handled prior to collection
dispensers can scan digital barcodes instead of manually searching for prescriptions, saving them time
Help and support
Patients can access help and support by tapping the help icon in the top right of the App or visiting: NHS App help and support.
What is the NHS App?
The NHS App is owned and run by the NHS. It can be accessed by anyone aged 13 and over registered with an NHS GP surgery in England or Isle of Man. Once you have verified your identity in the app, you will have easy, 24/7 access to a growing range of health services and information. It doesn’t replace existing services. You can still contact your GP surgery in the usual ways.