The NHS App has been part of the digital health landscape for several years, but a new report from the Tony Blair Institute argues it has yet to reach its full potential. The report makes the case for turning the app into a genuinely world-class patient portal; and for ensuring it has the political backing to make that happen.
Central to the TBI’s proposal is the idea that the prime minister should personally champion the app, with the health secretary directly accountable for its delivery. To accelerate progress, it recommends embedding a taskforce of individuals from commercial backgrounds within the NHS App team, with the authority to cut through cross-departmental barriers. This is not the first time the institute has called for tighter central control over NHS technology. In an earlier report, it pushed for a single digital health record to be managed by the Department of Health and Social Care rather than NHS England. That idea has since become government policy with the announcement of the single patient record and the abolition of NHSE.
Since 2018, around £200 million has been spent developing the NHS App. The current development contract ends in June 2026, with a new award expected soon. The TBI wants the procurement process to be redesigned so that contracts are based on outputs and prioritise quality over price.
The report identifies four core functions for the best patient portals: access to personal health information; administrative control; care navigation; and clinical management. The NHS App is already strong in some of these areas. Most patients registered with a GP can now view their medical records. Administrative tools such as ordering repeat prescriptions and registering with a GP practice are also widely available.
But the institute says the app could go further. It recommends adding AI triage and navigation for non-urgent care, enabling remote consultations, and integrating the single patient record directly into the platform. The SPR, it argues, should not be seen simply as “NHS digital plumbing” but as the foundation for a fully connected patient experience. Delivering the app and all its planned functions should be the primary use case for the SPR.
There is also a public engagement dimension to the plan. The TBI suggests the SPR should help build public support for the collection and use of health data, enabling the NHS to shift more towards prevention. Both the SPR and the app, it says, should be interoperable with private and voluntary sector services. A proposed digital NHS ID could allow patients to access third-party digital tools funded by the NHS, such as weight management programmes.
The report’s tone suggests these recommendations are less a wish list and more a preview of what is likely to come. Past TBI proposals have been adopted quickly by government, and the close alignment between this report and existing policy directions indicates that discussions are already under way.
Making the NHS App central to a single patient record has clear advantages. It could give patients a single point of access to their health information and services, make it easier to navigate care, and strengthen the link between data and prevention. But it will require more than technical integration. It will need sustained political will, careful management of public trust, and a focus on delivering real benefits for patients rather than just ticking functional boxes.
The NHS App has already evolved from a basic administrative tool to a more capable platform. The challenge now is to turn it into something transformative, a gateway to the full range of health and care services, seamlessly connected across sectors. If the government is serious about that goal, then the kind of high-level backing and decisive leadership called for in the TBI report will be essential.
