NHS App expansion to replace postal system and cut £200m in costs by 2028

The NHS App is being upgraded with £50M to deliver faster test results, reminders, and reduce missed appointments. See how this will save £200M.

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The United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care, along with , announced a major expansion of the on June 7, 2025, backed by a £50 million investment designed to shift critical patient communications from traditional post to digital delivery. Over the next 12 months, NHS England plans to send more than 270 million notifications—ranging from appointment reminders and test results to screening invitations—directly to patient smartphones, positioning the NHS App as the central communication hub between patients and the national healthcare system.

This marks a significant scale-up in the use of infrastructure in England, aligning with the broader Elective Care Reform Plan and the government’s Plan for Change, both of which aim to improve care access, reduce missed appointments, and modernise healthcare engagement. The push is also intended to help stem financial waste in the public health system, which still spends hundreds of millions of pounds annually on printing, postage, and manual admin.

Representative image of a patient using the NHS App to manage appointments and receive test results as part of the UK's digital healthcare expansion.
Representative image of a patient using the NHS App to manage appointments and receive test results as part of the UK’s digital healthcare expansion.

Why is the NHS App being scaled up now?

The digital expansion of the NHS App comes in response to persistent systemic inefficiencies across the health system. NHS England reported that in the 2023–24 period, nearly 8 million elective appointments were missed—leading to prolonged wait times and avoidable delays in patient care. Around 30% of patients skipped their scheduled screening sessions, often citing miscommunication, overlooked letters, or delays in receiving appointment notifications.

To address this, NHS England is leveraging mobile-first communication. According to current projections, this year’s 270 million app-based messages will represent a 70 million increase from last year’s total. Health officials estimate that this shift could reduce mailing and administrative overheads by £200 million over the next three years.

Health and Social Care Secretary noted that patients “want to access information about their health at the touch of a button,” framing the digital transformation as essential for aligning public healthcare with modern consumer expectations. He added that the NHS still spends “hundreds of millions of pounds on stamps, printing, and envelopes”—resources that could instead be redirected toward frontline care.

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How will patients receive messages through the NHS App?

The rollout will prioritise the NHS App for all outbound communication where feasible. If app notifications cannot be delivered—due to technical issues or lack of app installation—messages will default to SMS. Letters will remain a last resort. This hierarchy allows NHS England to reduce paper-based communication without excluding vulnerable groups such as the elderly or digitally unconnected.

As of June 2025, nearly 20 million patients are already opted in to receive messages through the NHS App. However, NHS officials are urging broader adoption, asking patients to download the app and enable push notifications to avoid missing essential updates. Dr Vin Diwakar, Clinical Transformation Director at NHS England, said the app is already logged into more than 11 million times each month, largely for services such as repeat prescriptions and appointment tracking.

What services are being added to the NHS App?

The current expansion goes beyond messaging. As part of the rollout, NHS App users will soon be able to sync appointment details with personal calendars and request GP support directly from within the interface. Additional quality-of-life upgrades—such as biometric login via Face ID—are also being implemented to improve user retention.

Over 87% of hospitals in England now offer services integrated with the NHS App, a figure that is expected to approach full national coverage by the end of 2026. This integration aligns with ongoing reforms aimed at reducing waitlists and empowering patients to play a more proactive role in their care journey.

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From late 2025 onwards, national screening programmes for breast, cervical, and bowel cancer will begin shifting to app-first notification models. This follows a successful pilot in which vaccination messaging campaigns—primarily for flu and COVID-19—delivered more than 85 million messages through digital platforms in a single year.

How does this initiative align with NHS productivity goals?

The investment in the NHS App is part of a broader effort to streamline workflows and reduce avoidable inefficiencies within the National Health Service. By delivering real-time, targeted communications through a centralised platform, NHS England aims to eliminate the friction points that often lead to appointment no-shows or test result delays.

From a policy perspective, the digital shift supports both the Elective Care Recovery Plan and the Plan for Change, which prioritise access, efficiency, and digital innovation. These reforms also respond to mounting pressure to modernise outdated NHS systems in the wake of pandemic-era digital acceleration.

Institutional sentiment has been largely positive, with health policy analysts viewing the move as long overdue. Digital-first healthcare delivery, already a reality in many European systems, has lagged in the UK due to fragmented infrastructure and resistance to digital change. The expanded NHS App strategy is expected to help bridge that gap while improving data transparency and administrative efficiency.

What are the risks and limitations?

Despite its advantages, the initiative is not without challenges. NHS England must ensure that digitally excluded populations—especially older adults and those in rural areas—are not left behind. Officials said fallback systems such as SMS and letters would remain in use for those without smartphone access, and efforts are ongoing to improve the accessibility of communications for those with disabilities.

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Additionally, as the NHS App becomes more central to patient care, cybersecurity and data privacy concerns will likely escalate. While not explicitly addressed in the June 7 announcement, any breach or data compromise could have outsized consequences, both reputationally and operationally.

What is the future outlook for the NHS App?

If successful, the NHS App is set to become the UK’s flagship health technology platform, consolidating everything from appointment bookings and test results to vaccination records and prescription management. NHS leaders describe the app as a “front door to the health service,” with aspirations to expand its role to include AI-driven triage tools, digital consultations, and care pathway monitoring over the next five years.

Dr Vin Diwakar said the App is already “empowering patients” by offering more accessible, transparent health data. The next evolution will involve proactive outreach and real-time service coordination—features that could significantly shift how public health services are consumed in the UK.

Analysts expect further integration with other government digital platforms, such as the NHS Login and the Personal Health Record initiative, making it a foundational element in the UK’s long-term health technology ecosystem.


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