Integration Overview
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has successfully integrated with the NHS App through a partnership with the patient engagement company DrDoctor.
Patient Benefits
This integration allows over 50,000 patients to access various features, including:
- Viewing, rescheduling, and cancelling appointments
- Receiving notifications
- Messaging healthcare providers
- Managing documents and questionnaires
- Checking appointment history
Technical Aspects
The integration was facilitated by DrDoctor’s platform, which is compatible with any electronic patient record (EPR) or patient administration system (PAS). This flexibility enables NHS trusts to connect with the NHS App seamlessly.
Statements from Officials
Jalil Mohammed, senior improvement lead at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s, stated:
“We’re always looking for ways to empower our patients and families. This integration helps us deliver on that ambition by putting more control directly into their hands. We’re delighted to be the first Epic EPR trust to integrate with the NHS App through DrDoctor. This is a significant step in making healthcare more accessible and convenient for our patients.”
Significance of the Integration
This marks the first instance of an Epic EPR trust in the UK going live with the NHS App via DrDoctor. It aligns with the NHS Wayfinder service goal to integrate all acute trusts into the NHS App.
Collaboration Details
DrDoctor collaborated with the trust’s integration team to adapt Epic’s outbound data feeds for use in their patient engagement platform. This data was reformatted to create a corresponding feed into the NHS App, enhancing patient functionality.
Future Goals
Nick Barlow, transformation director at DrDoctor, emphasized:
“By integrating with Epic at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s and connecting them to the NHS App, we’ve demonstrated that trusts can deliver cohesive patient engagement quickly and securely. Our aim is to make interoperability a reality, helping trusts maximize existing investments while providing patients with a more connected experience.”
Context of the Integration
This integration follows the release of the 10-year health plan, which prioritizes the development of the NHS App as the standardized patient portal. Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS FT implemented the Epic EPR in May 2025, replacing older IT systems.
Additional Developments
In related news, the NHS Humber Health Partnership has partnered with DrDoctor to introduce a suite of patient-facing digital tools aimed at enhancing communication and outpatient engagement, with a pilot program launched in July 2025.