The campaign centres around pointing out how much easier it is to do certain tasks using the app rather than contacting a patient’s practice. As commissioners push to pass on costs for SMS fragments over certain quotas, practices may find sending notifications via the app to be a good way of reducing SMS use. However not all patients with the app installed will have push notifications active, so this method should not be relied upon for information that is critical to patient care.
Specifically NHS England London are promoting that all users having access to:
- Request repeat prescriptions.
- Choose a usual pharmacy to collect prescriptions or nominate one anywhere else in England.
- View GP-held medical records, including medication, test results and immunisations.
- Get advice from NHS111.
- Find nearby NHS services, such as dentists, pharmacies or mental health services.
- Register for organ donation or change donation preferences.
And users in areas with the features enabled being able to:
- Request and cancel GP appointments.
- Check the details of future GP and hospital referrals and appointments.
- Receive notifications from their practice, such as appointment reminders.
- Contact their practice via an online form.
NHS England London are asking practices to share the campaigns messages and have supplied wording in the form of a press release and social media content. The marketing materials make several mentions of the ease of booking and/or altering appointments via the app, so practices should be mindful of the fact patients may expect to find consultations available to book upon signing-up.