NHS App users in England can now collect medication from a pharmacy without having to contact a GP or health center to get a paper prescription, according to NHS Digital.
From today, patients in England can use the NHS App to view all their prescription details, order repeat prescriptions, and generate a barcode for medication collection. The barcode replaces the traditional paper slip given by doctors.
The national rollout follows a successful pilot in late 2023. Since then, over 1 million patients have used the app to view their prescriptions. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins told the BBC the update would "ease pressures on our hardworking pharmacists and GPs - freeing up valuable time for patients and helping to cut waiting lists."
The new functionality allows patients to see the medication prescribed, the prescription type (repeat or one-off), and who the prescribing professional is. Patients who don't have a nominated pharmacy can generate a prescription barcode for collection. The app also now shows average local hospital waiting times for elective treatment, such as hip replacements.
Accessing Digital Prescriptions in the NHS App
Tap your health at the bottom of the screen
Select view and manage prescriptions.
Select Your approved prescriptions.
Tap the green button on the prescription you want to view.
NHS Digital says future developments for the service are now being explored, including prescription tracking to tell patients when medications are ready for collection.
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Old old news. It’s been this way in Finland for years.
The NHS does not operate in Finland so it is not ‘old news’ that the NHS implemented these changes. If tomorrow the Finnish healthcare system introduced something that had been available elsewhere for years it would be newsworthy. If the United States introduced universal and free healthcare at the point of use this would also be newsworthy and not ‘old news’ just because it’s been that way for years in many other countries.
Whilst it’s brilliant to see our amazing, free at the point of need, nationalised, socialised, healthcare system is making access easier, I don’t quite understand why it’s featured on this website. It’s an app, it’s a web browser, nothing to do with the Apple ecosystem.
For anyone confused and thinking this already existed: The NHS app already allowed for requesting repeat prescriptions and having them sent directly to a nominated pharmacy.
This change allows the prescription to be sent to your phone in the form of a barcode, allowing you to go to any pharmacy (in the same way as you would with a paper form).
