Imagine checking on your prescription the same way you track a parcel from your favourite online store, no waiting on hold, no unnecessary trips to the pharmacy, and no wondering if it’s ready. That’s exactly what the NHS App’s new “Amazon-style” prescription tracker has made possible for nearly 400,000 people in just ten weeks.
Since its launch in May, the feature has been used an impressive 715,000 times across more than 1,600 high street chemists, including every Boots in England. For patients, it means instant updates on their medication and for pharmacists, it means fewer phone calls and more time to focus on care.
With over 37 million registered users and a surge in online prescription orders, the NHS App is fast becoming an essential tool for healthcare management. But this is just the beginning.
In an exclusive conversation with Asia Voice, Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock discusses more details about the initiative and reveals how this digital healthcare initiative will expand further,
Can you tell us a bit about your role in the development and rollout of the prescription tracker?
We want patients to have easier and more convenient access to NHS services like medicines, tests and treatments, and this is a great example of how we’re using technology to deliver innovations across the health service. The 10 Year Health Plan sets out a vision for the NHS App to become a world-leading tool for patient access, empowerment and care planning. As the Minister for Care in the Department for Health and Social Care, one of my top priorities is pharmacy, and the app helps to free up both patient’s and pharmacist’s time. It's part of our Plan for Change to modernise the NHS and create a health service fit for future.
Could you walk us through the development process of the prescription tracking feature in the NHS App? What kind of user research or insights shaped the design?
The development was driven by a clear patient need. Almost half of all calls to community pharmacies were from patients simply asking if their prescription was ready. This creates unnecessary pressure on pharmacy staff and inconvenience for patients, making wasted trips or phone calls to their local chemist. In a world where people can track their Amazon parcels through their phone, there is no reason why the NHS cannot offer the same. So we have worked closely with patients, pharmacists, and our digital teams to deliver an app feature that is simple, effective and easy to use, delivering changes that benefit everyone.
Has there been any impact on prescription collection times or missed medications since launch?
Nearly 400,000 people have used the tracker 715,000 times in ten weeks - once every nine seconds. We also know that Ryan's Pharmacy in Yorkshire has seen an 80% reduction in phone calls since implementing the tracker. This frees up pharmacists to spend more time providing clinical advice to patients rather than answering status queries. While we're still gathering comprehensive data on collection times and missed medications, early indicators suggest patients are more engaged with their prescription management when they have real-time visibility.
Are there plans to bring more pharmacies on board to offer delivery services to doorsteps, and how is the NHS working to make this option more widely available to patients across England cohesively through this app?
We are determined to give patients access to the latest technology to improve access to healthcare services. The tracker will expand to nearly 5,000 more pharmacies within 12 months, covering 60% of pharmacies in England. This is all part of our plan to pull the NHS into the 21st century and shift services from analogue to digital.
How does this innovation fit into the NHS's broader digital transformation strategy and how is NHS Digital ensuring that this tool is accessible to people who are not tech-savvy or who face digital exclusion?
Our 10 Year Health Plan is going to transform the NHS App, so managing your healthcare becomes just as easy as online banking or shopping. But, in the same way that the banks put on training programmes to help people to use their online services, we must make sure everyone is comfortable using the NHS App. The NHS App development teams are required to do regular user research and testing with people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to make sure that we are inclusive as possible with each new feature. We are also working with partners such as in the voluntary sector and public libraries to make sure that everyone who wants to learn to use the app, can.
We’ve also partnered with 1,400 libraries, 2,000 NHS App Ambassadors, and free mobile data for excluded patients. If you don’t have a phone, the majority of services are also on the NHS website, and you can still opt in for SMS texts or letters to keep you informed.
Are there plans to expand this feature to include more detailed prescription histories, appointments, medication reminders, or AI-driven insights for easier patient access?
The roadmap is ambitious. With our 10 Year Health Plan, we’re improving the booking system to end the '8am scramble' for GP appointments, and introducing AI-powered health advice available 24/7, including self-referral options for mental health and other services. We're also working towards a single patient record owned by the patient and shared across care teams.
As and when new facilities and services are introduced in the future, how soon can users expect them to be available through the NHS App?
Our approach is iterative and patient-focused. With our 10 Year Health Plan, we will continue to roll out improvements based on clinical need. The prescription tracker went from launch to serving nearly 400,000 users in just ten weeks. We are determined to maintain this pace of innovation while ensuring clinical safety and accessibility remain paramount. The prescription tracker demonstrates how digital innovation can improve both patient experience and system efficiency - exactly the kind of reform we need to build an NHS fit for the future.
