The NHS app is used by over 34 million people. Image credit: Shutterstock / frank333.

A new tool that provides real-time updates on prescription status to users on the NHS app will not only empower patients but also help pharmacists in their day-to-day activities.

Used by more than 34 million people, the NHS app has ushered in a wave of digital medicine across England. The launch of the electronic prescription service (EPS) earlier this year was welcomed by many in healthcare, streamlining the journey of medicine to patients.

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The EPS could soon be gaining a new tracking feature, where patients can see the progress of their prescriptions online. While this update – currently in a pilot phase – will undoubtedly provide more information to those taking the medicine, pharmacists across the country will also benefit, according to the project’s driver, Nilisha Patel, who is also the clinical lead for digital medicines at NHS England.

“What we found [via working with community pharmacies] was that about 45% of patient queries to pharmacies are to do with prescription progress,” Patel said at the ongoing Healthcare Excellence Through Technology (HETT) 2024 conference in London.

“For five minute phone calls at a rate of around 150 calls per week, we’re looking at saving them potentially over 12 hours of frontline staff time,” Patel added.

Community pharmacies in England are currently under “severe financial strain”, according to the chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, Janet Morrison. A report published this year states that spiralling costs coupled with increasing workloads mean one in six pharmacies are at risk of closure.

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The introduction of EPS alleviated some of that burden via digitisation. At the time of its launch, the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Victoria Atkins said it would “ease pressures on our hardworking pharmacists”. Since its launch, the EPS is estimated to have also saved 300,000 hours of front-line staff time at GP surgeries.

The upcoming tracking feature on the NHS app, originally announced in July, would consolidate time efficiencies at pharmacy branches – adding no extra steps to a pharmacist’s normal workflow while reducing queries from patients. 

Patel said the time saved with the tracker means it can be “reinvested into other services” by pharmacists.

The in-app prescription tracking is on course to be delivered to at least one pharmacy dispensing supplier by this month, according to Patel’s presentation at HETT. A gradual pilot roll-out to Boots, Cegedim, Invatech, and Apotec is expected until January 2025.