NHS England Introduces Prescription Tracking in NHS App

NHS England has launched a new prescription tracking feature in the NHS App, allowing patients to monitor the progress of their medications.

Currently available at nearly 1,500 high street pharmacies, including all Boots branches in England, the service enables users to check if their prescription is ready for collection or, if being delivered, has been dispatched. Over the next 12 months, an additional 5,000 pharmacies—representing 60% of those in England—are expected to adopt the system.

Greater Control for Patients

Dr Vin Diwakar, Clinical Transformation Director at NHS England, emphasised the feature’s role in giving patients more control over their healthcare:

“The new prescription tracking feature in the NHS App provides near real-time updates so people can see when their medicine is ready—helping them avoid unnecessary trips or last-minute collection.”

This Amazon-style tracking also aims to reduce administrative workload for pharmacists, allowing them to focus on delivering essential healthcare services rather than fielding prescription inquiries.

Boots Pharmacy Integration

Anne Higgins, Pharmacy Director at Boots, highlighted its impact on customer experience:

“For the first time, patients who order their prescription via the NHS App and nominate a Boots pharmacy can track its progress at every stage.”

This eliminates the need for patients to call pharmacy staff for updates, freeing up time to enhance services such as NHS Pharmacy First.

Barcode Collection Feature

The new tracker expands on an existing NHS App feature that allows patients to collect prescriptions via barcode if they haven’t nominated a pharmacy. NHS England reports 2.1 million monthly views of digital prescription barcodes.

Future updates will introduce additional features to further streamline prescription management within the NHS App.