Reflections on the pilot and results of the research, to inform the programme as the NHS App is connected to GP practices across England.
The research indicated that users were enthusiastic for the look and feel of the NHS App and appreciated having access to a reliable Health A – Z feature to check a condition. We exceeded the number of users we were hoping to recruit by more than 1,000, and were pleased with the range of ages of people who took part.
The pilot was an important milestone for the NHS App team, the NHS login team and NHS Digital and NHS England more broadly. The pilot highlighted a number of areas of work to help us improve the app for users, and the rollout process for practice staff. While the app tested well with patients, we have also developed our capacity to fix bugs and resolve issues quickly if necessary.
The pilot showed us that practices need to be engaged early and clearly. Practices need to look at appointment naming and availability before being connected to the app to help ensure that patients have a positive experience in the app from the first time they download it. The toolkit we have developed for practices going live with the app will help ensure this happens, along with our work with key stakeholders around appointment naming conventions.
As part of private beta for the NHS App we had a full accessibility assessment. The NHS App underwent an independent assessment to ensure it worked for people with limited vision, communication and motor skills. We achieved Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA rating, with recommendations for further improvements. This means the NHS App has been rated as having a high standard of accessibility.
We would like to thank practice staff and patients who took part in the NHS App pilot, as well as the local CCG staff who guided the rollout and preparation for the practices. All have been very generous with their time and cooperation as we have researched the NHS App.
The NHS App was released to app stores on 31 December 2018 and GP practices across England are being connected gradually to it. All functions of the app are scheduled to be fully available across England, with all GP practices fully connected, by July 2019.