Nine more digital health services to use NHS Login

Nine more digital healthcare services will use NHS Digital’s single sign-on process, NHS Login.

Amongst these are GP service access platform Patient Access and the NHS eReferrals service (e-RS).

This will take the total number of products and services using NHS Login to 14, which NHS Digital labelled “a real leap forward” in enabling patients to access digital healthcare services from a single, secure log-in system.

The next nine services to use NHS Login include:

• Evergreen Life – a GP online services app connected with three major GP systems in England
• myGP –a GP online services app provided by iPlato Healthcare. The app provides appointment booking, patient triage, two-way messaging, health tracking, prescription ordering and video consultation to 59 CCGs nationwide.
• Subtrakt Health – a tech company working with the NHS to transform primary care services developing digital services for patients and clinicians, including Patient Pack – an online GP services and video consultations platform
• Lincus Digital Health – a platform developed by Rescon Technologies providing online consultation, health record access and management tools for patients and clinicians
• Mjog Messenger – a health messaging app for patients used by thousands of GPs to deliver health information, health advice and access to specialist online health services
• ‘Ask NHS’ powered by Sensely – an app used by over 220,000 patients which points users to relevant NHS services and provides healthcare advice
• AccuRx – a communication platform used by over 2000 GP practices to send messages to their patients
• Patient Access – an app which connects patients to their GP surgery and healthcare service
• NHS eReferrals Service (e-RS) – the system rolled out by the NHS combining electronic booking with a choice of place, date and time for first hospital or clinic appointments

Ian Phoenix, director of citizen health technology at NHS Digital, said: “It is great to have worked in partnership with the initial pilot companies to get to the stage that they are live with NHS login. We’ll continue to learn as we work with the next nine partners, so that we can shape our new partner integration toolkit, which is set to go live this autumn.

“There are dozens more organisations expressing an interest in getting NHS login too, so our ambitions are high.

“There is much more to do but we have reached an important step on the journey to join up great digital solutions to our national platforms.”

One-stop identify verification 

Previously monikered Citizen Identity, NHS Login is designed so that patients only have to verify their identity once when using NHS-approved digital healthcare services.

It is already in use by the NHS App and a number of other platforms, including online GP consultation platform, eConsult.

NHS Login will also be used in the upcoming ‘Digital Health Passport’ – an app from developers Tiny Medical Apps designed to helps teenagers manage long-term conditions like asthma.

According to NHS Digital, the sign-in system has over 117,000 user accounts – a figure that is growing rapidly, and which more than doubled during the month of June.

Dr Simon Eccles, chief clinical information officer and deputy chief executive of NHSX, said: “Digital tools like the NHS App are putting the NHS into the pocket of everyone in England, and by enabling other products to use our secure login feature the NHS is helping even more patients to simply and safely take control of their own health delivering on commitments in the Long Term Plan.

“NHSX is working with the market at a national level to create a platform of digital tools like NHS Login that can be built on by digital health innovators.”

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