NHS App family access potential ‘gamechanger’ for practice staff

A new family access feature is being piloted in the NHS App to make it easier for parents and carers to switch profiles and book appointments and order repeat prescriptions for someone else.

The change has been described as a ‘gamechanger’ that could reduce admin for practice staff and make care coordination more efficient.

In pilot areas, parents or carers who are registered at the same GP practice as their dependents can apply to add their profile to the app by providing their details.

One of the GP practices piloting the scheme said the service brings major benefits to staff and patients.

Will Palmer, digital community connector at Frome Medical Practice in Somerset, said: ‘Patients are so relieved that they can easily get set up to order repeat prescriptions or see test results for their loved ones in the NHS App.

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‘For our practice, it reduces the admin burden and improves efficiency, care coordination and communication, as well as empowering carers – it’s a gamechanger.’

Once patients have signed up through the app, the feature will allow them to switch between their own and their relative’s profile, enabling them to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and access care plans on their behalf.

The service, which has so far been used most by parents on behalf of children, also improves access to the NHS App on behalf of people who may lack the correct device, data coverage or digital skills, or who face language barriers.

NHSE say almost 12,000 people have so far applied to use the feature through pilots in 68 GP practices, with NHSE planning to roll out the service more widely from next year.

A parent or carer was until now able to manage their own health using the app, but had to set up additional access for a relative through their practice.

Dr Vin Diwakar, clinical transformation director at NHSE, said the feature will be ‘hugely beneficial for GP practices’ by reducing the amount of time staff spend on admin and freeing up resources.

‘This is a great example of how we’re transforming healthcare by harnessing digital technology as part of the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, as well as tackling digital exclusion,’ Dr Diawakar said.

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The details then go through verification checks via national NHS systems and through the GP practice before access is granted.

Latest data shows that the NHS App now has 38.5 million registered users, with an average of 56.5 million logins each month for people to manage their healthcare.

In the last 12 month, 61.5 million repeat prescriptions were ordered via the NHS App – a 46% increase on the previous year (42.2 million).

There were also 87.4 million views of patient test results during the same period.

In a recent roundtable discussion led by Nursing in Practice, one nurse spoke of inflexibility in booking systems for childhood immunisations in her area.

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‘Our main problem is that the bookings are sent out to parents centrally, whether it’s one they are available to attend or not. If it’s not suitable, they are encouraged to then contact the surgery for another time, but some people just don’t turn up at all. If they don’t attend, we then follow up and contact them to book in another time. I find it a frustrating system,’ said lead nurse Sharon Traves, from Leicestershire.

In June, NHSE approved a new clinical general practice (GP) IT system to be rolled out across England.