The NHS App, launched three years ago, now has over 22 million users and is one of the UK’s most downloaded apps.

With over 18 million new registrations since the NHS COVID Pass was added on 17 May, the NHS App, which is managed by NHS Digital, was also the most downloaded free iPhone app this year.

Users are benefitting from easier access to NHS services, with the NHS App providing quick and secure access to a variety of digital health services, including booking appointments and ordering repeat prescriptions, as well as accessing the NHS COVID Pass.

Since the NHS App was launched, a total of 10.4 million repeat prescriptions have been ordered and 1.1 million GP appointments have been booked via the App, saving valuable time for patients and clinicians. In the past six months, 6.2 million repeat prescriptions have been ordered and 641,000 GP appointments have been booked.

Additionally, a total of 316,000 people have used the NHS App to manage their organ donation decision, with over 170,000 registrations in the last six months. Registering a preference helps NHS specialist nurses to quickly understand what people want to happen to their organs, and enables them to discuss their wishes directly with their family.

Simon Bolton, interim chief executive at NHS Digital, said: “The NHS App was one of the most downloaded apps this year, with more than 22 million people using it. The NHS App has played a central role in the fight against Covid-19 helping to enable international travel and access to major events. It has also changed the way millions of adults in England access healthcare services in the three years since its launch, with people using the NHS App to book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions, access the NHS COVID Pass service and register organ donation decisions.”