In Business

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

Patients who have signed up to personal health record app Evergreen Life will be able to book Pharmacy First consultations through the app via a new partnership with online pharmacy platform Healthera, the two companies have announced.

The function, which is due to launch on Thursday July 30, will allow Evergreen’s 1.5 million users to view look up Healthera member pharmacies – it claims to have over 1,700 in its network – and book Pharmacy First and other community pharmacy services directly through the app.

Evergreen currently allows users to access NHS GP services, health records and “personalised wellness insights” via its app, while Healthera acts as a “digital front door” for member pharmacies as well as providing an online directory of all pharmacies in England.

It attracted criticism last year over its refusal to allow pharmacies to have their Healthera listing taken down, eventually agreeing to remove a hyperlink on non-member pharmacies’ directory pages that directed users to paying Healthera partners.

A statement from the companies claimed that as more GP practices use Evergeen’s digital triage tool, the number of potential pharmacy service users could grow to 3.5 million.

Evergreen Life executive chairman Stephen Critchlow said: "Patients increasingly expect healthcare to be as easy to access as other digital services. By partnering with Healthera, we're making it simpler for millions of people to connect with community pharmacies and receive timely care when they need it.”

Healthera CEO Quintus Liu commented: "Community pharmacies have the clinical expertise and capacity to treat many common conditions, yet too many patients still default to contacting their GP first.

"By bringing Pharmacy First directly into Evergreen Life, we're making pharmacies more visible and accessible, helping patients receive care sooner while supporting the NHS to use its resources more effectively.”