NHS App Hot Topic Report

Key Findings

• Widely used locally: Awareness of the app is near-universal (94.6%), and around eight in ten of those who have heard of it use it. Usage peaks among those aged 55–74, showing the app is reaching many of those with the greatest health needs. 

• Three groups, three different needs: Those using the app, those who want to but cannot due to registration or login barriers, and those who cannot or will not — over half of non-users (52.5%) simply prefer speaking to a person. 

• A confusing patchwork of apps: More than half of respondents (57.1%) use at least one other health app, mostly alongside the NHS App rather than instead of it, and ending this patchwork was the single most requested improvement. 

• Test results need explaining: Checking results is one of the most valued things the app does, but some arrive as unexplained jargon — including one respondent who discovered a long-term condition through the app alone, with no call from their practice. 

• Feedback, but conditionally: A majority (60.8%) would give feedback through the app, but of those who would not, nearly half would rather speak to someone face-to-face and three in ten would prefer an independent organisation.
   

Recommendations

1. Consolidate the local digital front door 
2. Enable hospital care management within the NHS App
3. Promote the app accurately 
4. Expand supported routes into the NHS App 
5. Keep non-digital routes equal in status 
6. Make it easier for carers to manage someone else’s healthcare
7. Let patients choose how results reach them 
8. Keep feedback independent and multi-channel