The government yesterday (July 3) announced that a “new AI-enabled tool in the NHS App” will direct patients who “do not have an urgent or emergency care need” to community pharmacies within the next three years.
By 2028, the “My NHS GP” feature will help patients “better navigate the health service” and “access more suitable care” such as pharmacies or GPs as an alternative to A&E, the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DH) 10-year health plan revealed.
Read more: ‘Amazon-style’ script tracker to expand to 60% of pharmacies
“While this will not be a replacement for 999 in an emergency,” it stressed, those who do not require urgent care may be directed to “the nearest pharmacy” or a neighbourhood health centre – which were announced earlier this week.
A “My Choices” feature will allow patients to find their closest pharmacy as well as the “best providers” and will give them the option to “leave feedback on services”, the DH said.
And the plan added that the app will also “help patients book a remote consultation if they need one or a face-to-face appointment if they prefer”.
Read more: Under 1.5k pharmacies using NHS app prescription tracker feature
“By providing a range of data” on providers such as community pharmacies – “whether that is the shortest wait, the best outcomes, the best patient satisfaction scores or the closest to home – patients will be able to pick based on their preferences”, it said.
And this will “inspire providers to respond to patient choice, raise their game and design services based on what patients truly value”, it added.
In some cases, the app will also “advise on self-care and help direct patients to well-evidenced consumer healthcare products”, the plan said.
“My Medicines” tool
The DH also revealed that a “My Medicines tool” on the NHS App will “make it simple to manage repeat prescriptions for delivery or collection”.
“Medicine regimes can be complex and hard to remember, so this tool will remind patients what they need to take and when,” it said.
And in the longer term, “My Medicines will be able to guide patients on drug interactions using scientific advances like pharmacogenomics...and help avoid adverse drug reactions”, it added.
Read more: IN FULL: Pharmacy to ‘transition’ from dispensing to clinical services by 2030
The app will also include a “My Vaccines” feature, allowing patients to “see whether their vaccines are up to date and book appointments to get them organised if they are not”, the plan said.
“It will have easy booking options, alongside information about travel vaccines and where to find them,” it added.
“Bigger role” for pharmacies
It comes after NHS England (NHSE) announced in May that an “Amazon-style” prescription tracking feature on the NHS App is set to be rolled out to “nearly 5,000 more pharmacies” over the next year.
Meanwhile, the plan also revealed that community pharmacies will “transition” from a focus on dispensing to “offering more clinical services” over the next five years.
It announced that “over the first half” of the 10-year plan, the government will “modernise” its “approach to the dispensing of medicines and make better use of technology” by introducing “dispensing robots” in pharmacies.
Read more: DH to ‘scale’ use of robotics to’ deliver ‘care with unprecedented precision’
It also said that pharmacies will be given a “bigger role in prevention by expanding their role in vaccine delivery” – with pharmacies to deliver human papillomavirus (HPV) catch-up jabs from next year - and in screening for risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
And it added that “over time”, community pharmacies will be “securely joined up to the single patient record”.
Check the C+D site for the latest on this developing story
