There’s been a quiet revolution across the NHS over the last few years. Patients are no longer seen as passive recipients of care but as partners in their health journey. This change didn’t happen overnight – it’s been building through a combination of policy shifts, cultural change and technology that makes interaction easier, faster, and honestly, a bit more human.
Behind much of this progress are the digital systems that support it: patient engagement tools that give people access to information, communication and control. Whether that’s through a website, an app, or a portal, these solutions help patients feel part of the process, not separate from it. Here are six examples of how these tools are transforming NHS care in practice.
1. Online triage and consultation platforms
Online triage systems have become the backbone of digital first primary care. They allow patients to describe their symptoms, request help, or complete forms online, helping practices handle demand more efficiently. The goal isn’t to reduce contact – it’s to make the right kind of contact happen faster.
When done well, these systems reduce waiting times, support staff workloads and make access fairer. For patients, it means less time spent on hold or explaining the same issue twice. For clinicians, it means having clear, structured information before appointments even start.
FootFall by Silicon Practice
FootFall is a patient engagement platform that supports digital triage, online consultations and patient communication in one place. It routes patient queries to the correct team member and uses intelligent forms to capture clinical details safely. Many practices using FootFall report shorter call queues and more predictable workloads. It also helps practices stay compliant with NHS digital standards, which is becoming increasingly important.
Hero Health
Hero Health is a growing contender in the triage and online consultation space, offering a more streamlined and cost effective approach for GP practices. It focuses on simplifying how patients book appointments, request prescriptions and communicate securely with their care team. Hero Health integrates directly with EMIS Web and SystmOne, meaning information flows smoothly into existing clinical systems – a feature smaller practices find particularly useful.
2. Enhancing communication and experience through patient engagement apps
Improving communication between patients and healthcare teams remains one of the NHS’s greatest challenges – and opportunities. Many services are discovering that patient engagement tools are not just about information sharing but about reshaping relationships. These tools allow patients to take an active role in their care while helping clinicians to manage resources more effectively. In hospitals and cancer centres across the country, digital solutions are enabling two way communication that is quicker, more personal and in many ways, more human.
Among the many patient engagement applications being adopted, the work at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and NHS Ayrshire and Arran really stands out. Both organisations have introduced a patient engagement mobile app designed by Silicon Practice, showing how technology can strengthen the human side of healthcare. Each example takes a slightly different approach – but both show how digital communication can enhance care quality, reduce stress and improve service delivery for both staff and patients.
Royal Surrey County Hospital – Enhanced Supportive Care App
At Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, the Enhanced Supportive Care (ESC) department has been working with Silicon Practice to create a new kind of patient engagement platform for people undergoing cancer treatment. The ESC service, launched in 2019, supports patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer who are receiving treatment at St Luke’s Cancer Centre. What makes this project so interesting is how it combines compassion with data – giving clinicians a clearer picture of each patient’s experience and empowering patients to share their symptoms and feedback in real time.
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal patient contact, the team sought an innovative way to continue monitoring wellbeing remotely. Partnering with the Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN), they selected Silicon Practice to co-design an app that could gather patient reported outcome data and deliver targeted support. The resulting patient engagement mobile app enables patients to complete a pre-consultation symptom assessment (MSAS-SF) on their own device, replacing paper forms and saving valuable appointment time. It also offers updates, educational materials and signposting to relevant resources – all in one accessible interface.
For clinicians, the patient engagement platform means they can review patient feedback before consultations and focus on what really matters to the individual. The ESC team describes how the app helps “patients set the agenda,” allowing conversations to centre on personal priorities rather than paperwork. And the results speak for themselves: in a 14 month evaluation supported by Unity Insights, 100% of patients who gave feedback rated the app as “good” or “great” and would recommend it to others. As ESC Project Manager Emma Dillsworth explained, “After two years, the app is embedded in our service, and we can see the potential to expand its use moving forward.”
It’s a small example of how thoughtfully designed patient engagement tools can reduce administrative pressure, promote communication and most importantly, improve patient experience – especially in emotionally demanding areas like cancer care.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran – Public Health Services App
Further north, NHS Ayrshire and Arran took on a different but equally complex challenge: communicating consistently across multiple hospitals, teams and departments. With more than 9,000 staff and a diverse population to serve, the organisation needed a way to keep patients, families, carers and professionals connected. The solution came in the form of a ‘container app’ – a versatile patient engagement application built by Silicon Practice that houses several sub-apps, each tailored to a specific service area.
Within this patient engagement platform, users can easily access key information, emergency procedures, contact details and updates relevant to their care. The design team worked closely with clinicians and digital staff to make the system intuitive, fast to update and inclusive. For example, the Addictions Education and Prevention team uses the app to send instant alerts, reminders about flu vaccinations and updates about new resources. Clinicians also use it internally to access policies, event details and training materials – creating a shared communication space for staff and patients alike.
In practice, this patient engagement mobile app demonstrates the efficiency of digital communication at scale. It doesn’t just share information – it empowers patients to take control, gives staff time back and makes healthcare services feel more approachable. It’s a reminder that even simple patient engagement tools can have a profound impact when implemented with empathy and clarity.
3. Appointment management systems
One of the simplest but most effective digital transformations has been in how patients book and manage appointments. The NHS has long struggled with high call volumes and missed appointments, and digital booking systems are helping to change that.
These systems empower patients to self-serve. They can schedule, reschedule, or cancel appointments 24/7, reducing pressure on reception teams and improving capacity management. It might sound like a small operational fix, but it has a surprisingly large impact on patient satisfaction.
NHS App
The NHS App has evolved into one of the most widely used patient engagement tools in the country. Patients can use it to book appointments, order prescriptions and even view their vaccination history. For many, it’s their first experience of truly digital healthcare. In practices that have embraced it, phone traffic has dropped significantly – freeing up time for staff to help patients who prefer or need in-person support.
SystmOnline
SystmOnline offers a similar service but is directly integrated into the TPP SystmOne clinical system used by many GP practices. It allows patients to book and manage appointments securely and gives practices full control over what services they make available. Some surgeries have used it to introduce same day online cancellations, helping them reallocate slots that would otherwise have gone to waste.
4. Patient portals and record access
Giving patients access to their own medical records has been a gradual shift, but one that’s reshaping the doctor – patient relationship. It’s part of a broader move toward transparency and self management. Patients who can view their records tend to feel more informed and as a result, more confident in their care.
For clinicians, it means better prepared patients. Conversations can move faster, and fewer appointments are spent going over past results. There’s also less duplication – something the NHS has been keen to improve for years.
Patient Access
Patient Access lets users view their medical records, check test results and request repeat prescriptions securely online. Many GP practices have reported that patients using the portal are more proactive and ask better targeted questions during consultations. It also reduces administrative follow up calls since patients can see results directly in the system.
MyHealth Online (Wales)
This Wales based system offers similar functionality for patients in devolved health services. It enables individuals to review parts of their medical record, manage appointments and order repeat prescriptions online. The Welsh Government has described it as a key step in its Digital Health and Care Strategy, which aims to create a fully connected national system by 2030.
5. Health monitoring and wearable integration
Remote monitoring is becoming one of the most practical forms of patient engagement. The NHS increasingly uses connected devices to track health metrics outside clinical settings. It’s particularly valuable for long term conditions where regular monitoring helps detect issues early.
These tools also reduce the strain on clinical teams by cutting down unnecessary visits while maintaining reassurance for patients. The data collected feeds directly into clinical systems, allowing clinicians to spot trends or intervene quickly.
NHS Remote Monitoring Services
These programmes combine wearables and connected devices (from blood pressure monitors to oxygen sensors) with centralised dashboards that feed directly into NHS records. Patients benefit from being monitored safely at home, while clinicians can focus in person care where it’s most needed. Early pilots have shown reduced emergency admissions and better adherence to treatment plans.
Omron Integration with EMIS
Omron’s blood pressure devices can now integrate with EMIS, one of the UK’s most widely used clinical systems. Patients record readings at home, and results appear automatically in their GP record. It removes manual data entry and allows instant alerts for abnormal readings. It’s a strong example of a patient engagement platform bridging the gap between home care and professional oversight.
6. Educational and lifestyle support apps
Sometimes engagement begins with awareness. Education focused patient engagement applications help people understand their conditions and adopt healthier habits. These tools often play a preventive role, nudging patients toward small, sustainable changes that improve outcomes long term.
Unlike clinical systems, these apps often focus on tone and motivation. They’re approachable, user friendly and grounded in behavioural science – all key ingredients for engagement.
NHS Couch to 5K
This free app encourages people to gradually build up their running distance and stamina. It uses supportive coaching, audio cues and motivational milestones. The simplicity is what makes it work – it’s less about data and more about encouragement. Many NHS trusts recommend it as part of lifestyle intervention programmes.
Smoke Free App
Designed to support people through smoking cessation, this app uses a combination of motivational tools, progress tracking and behavioural psychology. Users can log cravings, track money saved and earn badges for milestones. It’s been clinically evaluated and shown to improve quit rates compared with traditional methods alone.
The bigger picture
What’s striking about all these examples isn’t just the technology itself, but the behaviour it encourages. Patients become more proactive, staff feel more supported and communication becomes a two way street.
Of course, there’s no one size fits all approach. Some trusts move faster than others, and every practice has its own digital journey. But as more teams adopt patient engagement applications and mobile tools, the direction of travel is clear – towards a more collaborative, informed and responsive NHS.
And that’s something worth being part of.