Millions of patients across England will now be able to get an alert on their smart watch or mobile when their prescription is ready to be collected.
The alerts have been introduced following the success of the ‘Amazon-style’ prescription tracking feature in the NHS App, which has been used by nearly 2.9 million people since its launch last year.
Users of the app can now get an instant notification when their prescription is ready at nearly 2,500 chemists across England.
Around one in three pharmacies in England are now offering the prescription tracking feature in the app, which has been used over 9 million times since it went live last year.
Rob Thompson, Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer at NHS England, said: “The NHS App’s prescription tracking feature has been incredibly popular since we launched it last year, and we’re now making it even easier to find out when your prescription is ready.
“Millions of app users will be able to get near real-time alerts on their smartwatches or mobiles, avoiding the need to regularly check the app or make unnecessary trips or calls to their pharmacy.
“The new prescription ready alerts are 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.”
Health Innovation Minister, James Frith, said: “People should be able to manage their healthcare as simply and conveniently as possible, and these new alerts will make it easier for millions of NHS App users to know when their prescriptions are ready to collect.
“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.
“Anyone that uses the NHS App should switch on notifications so they can benefit from this brilliant new service.”
