Mobile messaging and notifications

IT supplier messages

If you’d like to explore with your pharmacy system supplier how you could use your system to efficiently send mobile messages to patients (e.g. notifications for when medicines can be collected), please contact your pharmacy system supplier.

Some system suppliers enable you to send SMS text messages or email reminders to patients that want these messages – via a special type of NHSmail pharmacy account called an NHSmail ‘application account’

The process may involve:

• The contractor NHSmail administrator will need to set-up an NHSmail ‘application’ account linked to the pharmacy shared mailbox (this counts as using one of the standard allowance of up to ten individual email accounts linked to the shared pharmacy mailbox).
• The contractor NHSmail administrator contacts the pharmacy NHSmail admin helpdesk to request for the ‘application NHSmail account’ to be set-up and enabled (the service route process for raising technical queries is outlined at: cpe.org.uk/nhsmailescalation).
• There are some naming considerations for the application NHSmail account: the account email address should not be named a person, but it can be named reminders.[ODS code].dontreply or similar. ‘Dontreply’ can be added because this may be an unmonitored email account…

Some pharmacy owners may opt to set-up their own NHSmail application accounts.

There are a number of mobile messaging providers that can also support pharmacy owners and teams with mobile messages.

NHS Notify 

NHS Notify is a secure messaging service used by NHS organisations to send updates to patients. It works alongside the NHS App and other digital tools to help patients stay informed about their care.

For community pharmacies, NHS Notify may support better communication with patients in the future — helping them understand appointments, prescriptions, and services.

Some IT suppliers will consider making cases for use of NHS Notify for NHS pharmacy service purposes.

See: NHS Notify

NHS guidance previously stated that: “It is absolutely fine to use mobile messaging to communicate with colleagues and patients/service users as needed. It is also fine to use commercial, off-the-shelf applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram where there is no practical alternative and the benefits outweigh the risk. The important thing, as always, is to consider what type of information you are sharing and with whom. And as much as possible limit the use of personal/confidential patient information.” (NHS IG advice for health and care professionals 2020).

NHS England’s Mobile Messaging guidance also sets out some IG considerations.