Patients to get test results via NHS app

Millions of patients will now be able to access test results and get appointment reminders on their smartphones as the government tries to position the NHS app as the default mode of communication and steer away from traditional methods like letters.

An investment of £50m has been made to upgrade the NHS app and the health service hopes to save £200m over the next three years.

Around 50 million letters are sent to patients each year by the NHS and a switch to digital communication is expected to improve efficiency.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that people who cannot access the app will receive text messages and then a letter as a last resort.

The department says 270 million messages will be sent through the NHS app this financial year - an increase of 70 million on the previous year.

NHS app services were launched in 2018, and now it is used by 87 per cent of hospitals across England.

Patients will be provided appointment reminders through push notifications and the department hopes this will bring down cases of missed appointments.

Work is also under way to enable the app users to add appointments to their phone calendars and request help from their local GP surgeries.

Over 11 million people in the UK log into the NHS app every month, while almost 20 million have opted to receive healthcare messages from the app.

Last month NHS England had announced that millions of patients would be able to get "Amazon-style" tracking updates on their prescriptions through the app, to check if their medicines are ready to collect or have been despatched for delivery.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said further investments in the app will provide more convenience to the patients.

However, Prof Phil Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, warned that a digital-first approach must not discriminate or alienate those who don't have access to smartphones and tablets.