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NEWS
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NHS App & 'scripts
More than 2.7m people have used a
new prescription feature in the NHS
App in the first two months since its
launch.
The convenient new feature,
which was launched in January, allows
patients in England to see when their
prescriptions have been issued and
view their prescribed medication.
Since the launch, there have been
18.4m views of prescriptions by
people with a nominated pharmacy,
meaning their medication details are
sent electronically to their chosen
pharmacy. Another 1.2m views were
by people without a nominated
pharmacy, with those users now able
to use a barcode in the app to collect
their prescription from any pharmacy
instead of needing a paper version.
The NHS App now has more than
34m registered users, with monthly
logins rising by 79% in the last year
from 16.2m in February 2023 to 29
million in February 2024. The number
of repeat prescriptions ordered
through the app grew by 44% from
2022 to 2023, with an average of 3.3m
now requested every month.
Each repeat prescription ordered
electronically saves GP practices
three minutes of time. Patients
also save an average of 18 minutes
with each online order, making it
more convenient for patients and
freeing up frontline staff to do other
important duties.
Another new feature recently
added to the NHS App enables
patients to see the average waiting
time for their hospital treatment at
the NHS acute trust they have been
referred to by their GP. More patients
can also now manage their hospital
appointments in the NHS App. There
were six million appointments viewed
or managed in the app in February
2024 compared to 1.8 million in
February 2023 - an increase of 233%,
with two thirds of NHS acute trusts
now offering the service.
Details on how to register with
the NHS App are available at
www.nhs.uk/nhs-app
CGM for T2?
Leading experts are calling for
glucose monitoring technology -
which is currently only available
in the UK to people on intensive
insulin therapy - to be used from
the point of diagnosis of, and
throughout a person's natural
history of living with, Type 2
diabetes.
The number of people living
with diabetes in Britain has
recently exceeded 5 million, with
90% of these living with Type 2
diabetes. There are also nearly
a million people in the UK living
with diabetes without knowing
it, putting their health at risk.
The NHS spends 10% of its entire
budget on diabetes care - and
80% of that is on dealing with
diabetes complications.
Experts conclude that earlier
glucose control can be critical
for long-term prevention of such
complications and reduce hospital
admissions.
Sam Seidu, Professor in
Primary Care Diabetes and
Cardio-metabolic Medicine at the
University of Leicester, one of the
authors of the paper, commented:
"Glucose sensing technology has
been around for many years now
and we've seen a direct correlation
between access to regular glucose
insights and better outcomes for
people living with Type 1 diabetes.
But for people with Type 2
diabetes, access to this technology
in the UK is still very limited and
our findings today highlight a
real opportunity for us to focus
our attention on tackling the
causes of diabetes complications,
rather than simply treating
the symptoms. Knowing how
your glucose levels individually
respond to food and exercise
choices - for example, right from
diagnosis - sets a clearer pathway
to better management across the
lifespan, and in most cases could
significantly limit further issues."
Scrolling a marathon?
Recent research has found that the average US adult scrolls the equivalent of
three marathons a year on their phone.
The study, commissioned by running lifestyle brand Saucony in partnership
with market research company HarrisX, surveyed more than 1,000 Americans
on how technology impacts their ability to enjoy the great outdoors. It found
that the average person scrolls on their phone a distance of 78 miles per year.
The study also showed that 60% of people surveyed reported that their daily
smartphone usage has increased year over year.
The brand is now calling for users to move their feet more than their
thumbs - by launching The Marathumb Challenge, a first-of-its-kind app,
which measures the distance users scroll and pits it against the number of
steps taken each day/week. If a user moves farther than they scroll, rewards
in the form of Saucony merchandise are available.
The Marathumb Challenge platform is available for both iOS and Android
users and can be downloaded via the Apple Store or Google Play for free.
To find out more, CLICK HERE.