NHS app users across England will be able to receive phone and smartwatch alerts when their prescriptions are ready for collection, in a move designed to reduce unnecessary calls and visits to pharmacies.
The service is being introduced at nearly 2,500 chemists, including every Asda and Boots pharmacy shop. Patients will need to switch on push notifications in the NHS app to receive the alerts.
Health innovation minister James Frith said: “This is a practical example of how digital technology can make a difference to people’s everyday experience of the NHS, while also helping to reduce unnecessary calls and free up valuable time for pharmacy staff to focus on supporting patients.”
He added: “Anyone that uses the NHS app should switch on notifications so they can benefit from this brilliant new service.”
The new alerts build on the NHS app’s prescription-tracking feature, introduced last May. It allows patients to view the live status of their medication in a system likened to tracking a parcel.
Almost 2.9 million people have used the tracker, while about one in three pharmacies in England now offers the service.
Rob Thompson, chief digital, data and technology officer at NHS England, said the ready alerts were “the latest step in the NHS giving people more control over how they manage their healthcare, as well as helping to reduce admin for staff”.
“Thousands of pharmacies are already live with the service, so I’d encourage all NHS app users to enable notifications in the app so they can get the full benefit,” he said.
Mr Thompson said the alerts would give millions of users near real-time updates on their mobiles or smartwatches, meaning they would not have to repeatedly check the app or contact their pharmacy.
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, welcomed the development, saying it could save time and reduce unnecessary journeys to pharmacies.
She said providing the information alongside non-digital ways of accessing support could help patients obtain prescription updates in a way that suited them.
