Value of IBM’s NHS App contract increased to £78.6m

NHS England has increased the value of a contract with supplier IBM for additional work on the NHS App to support the government’s NHS App programme.

IBM was initially awarded a contract worth £52.4m in 2022 for the development and maintenance of NHS App features, but according to a contract notice published on 10 February 2025, the value has now increased by £26.2m to £78.6m.

The term of the initial contract was 48 months, with an option to extend for a further 12 months. The uplift does not reflect an extension and applies only to the core contract, which expires in June 2026.

The additional £26.2m to the contract is being used to deliver new and additional features and their associated running and maintenance costs, following the government’s announcement on planned upgrades to the app.

The expanded scope is due to the recent ambitions to increase access to NHS services through the NHS App.

Examples of initiatives already delivered through the £26.5m include improved and increased citizen access to view and amend their hospital outpatient appointments and enabling people who do not have a nominated pharmacy to receive a digital barcode to collect their prescriptions from a pharmacy of their choice in England.  

An NHS spokesperson said: “Millions of people now use the NHS App every month for everything from ordering a repeat prescription to checking the latest health advice. Our updated contract with IBM has allowed us to introduce new features such as being able to view or amend hospital outpatient appointments, or use a digital barcode to collect prescriptions.”

The government’s plannede upgrades to the app include enabling patients to choose providers, book appointments in more settings and receive test results, as part of the it’s elective reform plan to reduce waiting times to 18 weeks by March 2029.

After the upgrades, patients requiring non-emergency elective treatment will be able to view and manage appointments at a time and place that is convenient to them, with the aim of reducing the number of missed appointments. In 2023/2024, there were eight million missed appointments in elective care.

Patients will also be able to choose from a range of providers, including some in the independent sector, and book diagnostic tests through the app at locations, such as Community Diagnostic Centres in shopping centres.

It is expected that by March 2025, patients at more than 85% of acute trusts will be able to view appointment information via the app.

NHS England also awarded a contract worth £37.5 million to technology consultancy firm BJSS Limited in January 2025 to deliver “large-scale public facing digital services to support development for NHS.UK and the wider portfolio which includes the NHS App and Login”.