The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework is bold about productivity, access and quality. However, we only get there if patients can do more for themselves, sooner. The biggest opportunity as far as I can see is to widen the use of patient facing technology, supporting more effective self-management, and supporting the delivery of key targets such as elective recovery by enabling better patient-readiness and reducing wasted procedures.
Afterall, that’s the job of patient-facing digital health, right - to empower patients to manage their own care and reduce their reliance of front-line services?
For this blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about the new medium term plan, how that follows the 10 year plan from earlier this year, and where the biggest opportunities are for suppliers to support the delivery of both.
From April 2026, systems are expected to fully adopt existing NHS App capabilities, including making at least 95% of appointments available after appropriate triage via the App. That’s a huge shift from “some things online” to “most journeys begin on your phone.”
The direction of travel is a unified access model: supporting by innovation such as AI-assisted triage, that guides people to self-care or the right service through a single interface, the NHS App, and backed by telephony and in-person routes for those who need them.
Why it matters: done well, this reduces future demand, gets people to the right service first time, streamlines journeys and improves experience, exactly the outcomes the plan is banking on.
The plan talks of digital triage, remote interactions, and “significantly” fewer routine follow-ups so capacity flows to first appointments and diagnostics. Patient-facing features (questionnaires, reminders, results, PIFU) are the mechanisms that make those pathways stick.
A practical detail many miss: by 2028/29, providers should have patients managing medicines, viewing waiting times, and completing pre/post-appointment questionnaires, and digital follow ups in place. If these flows aren’t easy for patients, we simply won’t see the intended capacity release.
Systems are asked to push towards a structured, digital-first urgent and emergency care model, appointments and scheduling aligned to clinical priority so A&E’s can focus on the sickest patients. Patient-led access and triage is how you separate true emergencies from problems best handled elsewhere.
All patient messaging is moving to NHS Notify, with App push as the preferred channel. That’s better reach, lower cost, and fewer lost letters! Quiet wins that enable the headline targets.
By 2028/29, acute, community and mental health providers should be onboarded to the Federated Data Platform (FDP). Patient-facing digital plugs into this plumbing so triage, booking, diagnostics and discharge can be coordinated end-to-end.
And when systems lean in, it pays off: trusts using the FDP have seen ~114 more elective surgeries per month and a 35% reduction in delayed discharge days. Exactly the kind of productivity boost the plan expects.
Here’s a quick checklist grounded in the Framework:
Everything above lives or dies on trust. Commissioners will ask: is it safe, private, effective, inclusive, etc. - and crucially - can you prove it?
That’s where structured assurance (e.g.ORCHA Assured) helps ensure patient-facing solutions are deployable, buyer-ready and with clear claims and risk management. Pair your App flows with assurance artefacts and you de-risk adoption.
The Framework isn’t just a policy document; it’s a product brief. If we want shorter waits, calmer A&E’s and better experiences, we need to make it radically easier for people to start, manage and complete their care digitally, with clear fallbacks when they can’t. Do that well, and the big ambitions start looking achievable rather than aspirational.