The NHS App is aiming for ‘at least’ 100 million logins a month by 2026, according to the national director for NHS digital channels.
Speaking at Digital Health Rewired 2025 last week, Professor Joe Harrison, national director of NHS digital channels at NHS England, said there were 50 million logins per month as of March 2025, and around 25 million in 2024.
‘If you’re not connected to the NHS App, you will be left behind,’ said Professor Harrison. ‘That’s a message to all of our suppliers who deal with the NHS, and indeed all citizens who can and should be managing your own health, wellness and subsequent illness.
‘The NHS App is now the most comprehensive and most used patient empowerment tool in the world,’ he added. ‘That’s not a flash in the pan Covid passport launch, that is month on month on month.’
Professor Harrison said that 99.7% of GP practices are now connected to the app, as well as 82% of acute trusts, and by this time next year they aim to have 100% of acute trusts connected.
He added that NHS England has reached an agreement with electronic record system Epic to integrate with the NHS App this year.
‘We know that by giving citizens the opportunity to manage their appointments, to see their tests results, to look at their records, it enables them to manage their care in a way that we haven’t seen previously,’ he said. ‘It significantly impacts waiting lists and we know that patients love it and our citizens love it.’
In January, NHS England awarded a £37.5m contract to tech consultancy firm BJSS for digital services, including the development of the NHS App.
In November, 1,400 libraries across England were supporting patients to get access to the NHS App as part of a scheme announced in August.
However, this time last year NHS Confederation said that leaders needed to communicate to patients that the NHS App was there to empower them and not to monitor them.
