View prescriptions in the NHS App

From 30 January 2024, patients in England can use the NHS App to view all their prescription details, order repeat prescriptions, and generate a barcode for medication collection. This is a significant step forward in improving visibility for patients, empowering them to be more actively involved in their healthcare.

The national rollout follows a successful pilot in late 2023 and now over 1 million patients have used the NHS App to view their prescriptions.

The new functionality allows patients to see:

• items prescribed  
• the prescription type (repeat or one-off) 
• who the prescribing professional is

Patients without a nominated pharmacy can also generate a prescription barcode in their NHS App that can be shown to a pharmacy for collection without a paper prescription from their GP. 

This service gives patients earlier visibility of exactly what their healthcare provider has prescribed for them and what they will collect/receive from pharmacies. 

Patients may not see a confirmed digital prescription if:

• it is prescribed but unavailable to you until a future date
• it is cancelled
• it was issued more than 6 months ago
• it was prescribed for an inpatient, to be dispensed by the hospital pharmacy, during their stay 
• their pharmacy manages their repeat medication supply on a regular basis 

How to access digital prescriptions through the NHS App

If the new prescription functionality is available in your area, you can see it in the NHS App by following these steps:

1. Tap your health on the bottom of the App and select view and manage prescriptions. 

2. Select your approved prescriptions. 

3. Select the prescription you want to view. If you do not have a nominated pharmacy you can generate a prescription barcode for collection

Published: Feb 5, 2024