Professor Joe Harrison speaking at Rewired 2025 (Image provided by Jordan Sollof)
The NHS App will be integrated with Epic in 2025, Professor Joe Harrison revealed at Digital Health Rewired 2025.
Speaking on the Digital Transformation Stage on 18 March 2025 in the session ‘Can the NHS App finally become the digital front door?’, Harrison, national director, NHS digital channels at NHS England, confirmed the agreement.
“We have come to an agreement with Epic, and this year we will get Epic live through the NHS App,” Harrison, who is also chief executive at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told the audience.
All of the NHS’ major electronic patient record (EPR) suppliers are now either connected into the NHS App or have a pathway to connectivity, he confirmed.
Harrison said that there has been an average of more than 50 million log-ins a month on the app over the last few months, an increase from around 25 million log-ins in March 2024.
The target is for there to be at least 100 million logins a month within the next 12 months, he added.
“If you’re not connected to the NHS App, we will move on without you,” Harrison warned, describing it as “now the most comprehensive and most used patient engagement tool in the world”.
A total of 99.7% of all GP practices are now connected to the app, and 82% of acute trusts, with 100% expected to be connected by this time next year, Harrison said.
“If your NHS notifications aren’t on, you’re not taking healthcare seriously” and “you won’t get into my office,” he added.
“There are no excuses if you’re an NHS provider, or you’re in primary care and you’re spending money on text messages.
“There are no excuses for organisations to be inefficient and using other ways of recording data for our citizens.
“The single biggest takeaway is there are no excuses, use the NHS App and get connected,” Harrison urged those in attendance.
He was also asked about the recent government news that NHS England will be abolished, stressing that with the number of people impacted by the changes, “as a compassionate health service we need to make sure we look after those individuals”.
Harrison was joined in the session by Rachel Hope, director of digital prevention services at NHS England, and Chris Fleming, partner at Public Digital, who chaired.