IT will be easier for millions of Brits to get NHS prescriptions from today - under new plans to save GP’s time.
Prescriptions have moved from paper to digital through the NHS App.
The new feature allows users to access their prescriptions without contacting their GP practice.
Anyone aged over 13 can download the NHS App, but users must be able to provide identification to get full access to features.
The initiative aims to help cut down pressure on frontline staff while providing better access to care for patients, amid huge waiting lists, junior doctors’ strikes and difficulty getting GP appointments.
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The new App feature will allow patients to see what prescriptions have been issued, to where, and when, so they can pick up their medicine at their local pharmacy.
Users without a nominated pharmacy will be able to collect their medicine from any pharmacy using a barcode, rather than go back to their GP for a piece of paper.
Patients can already use the NHS App to request repeat prescriptions digitally and have them sent to their pharmacy.
The number of repeat prescriptions ordered through the app has grown by 45 per cent over the past year, with an average of 3.1 million now requested every month.
Each repeat prescription made electronically saves GP practises three minutes, amounting to an estimated 1.85million hours in 2024.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Today’s update will mean ordering and collecting your prescriptions can be done with a few taps of your fingers.
“This will not only benefit anyone getting a prescription, it will also ease pressures on our hardworking pharmacists and GPs – freeing up valuable time for patients and helping to cut waiting lists.”
Check waiting times
Patients waiting for elective hospital treatment will also now be able to see the average waiting time for their procedure at their local trust.
This can currently be done on the NHS website My Planned Care.
Vin Diwakar, national director for transformation at NHS England said: “The NHS App is transforming the way people manage their healthcare, freeing up valuable time for healthcare professionals.
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“The prescription service is the latest in a number of services we’re adding to the NHS App to provide better care for patients.
“I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t used the NHS App for a while, or who has never downloaded it, to tap the app and see what it has to offer.”
The NHS App has gained 33.6 million registered users – equivalent to around three-quarters of the adult population – since its launch five years ago.
Millions of people are already using the app to order repeat prescriptions
Joe Harrison
The app can also be used to check your GP records, such as medications prescribed and allergies, and book and manage appointments or vaccinations.
Joe Harrison, national director of mobile-first at NHS England, added: “The NHS App is helping to support our frontline staff, freeing up time to treat more patients and enabling patients to get more involved in their care.
“Millions of people are already using the app to order repeat prescriptions, and they’ll now also be able to view and manage their prescriptions using the new service in the app.”
Meanwhile, the NHS Pharmacy First Service is set to launch on January 31.
Under the service, pharmacies in England, including high-street stores such as Boots, can offer access to advice and treatment for seven common conditions.
These are sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, or an uncomplicated urinary tract infection in women.
Patients won’t need a GP appointment or prescription to get the appropriate treatment but instead speak to a pharmacist who can also refer them to GP services if necessary.
