An AI triage tool has been integrated into the NHS App, allowing more than a million patients to directly book appointments with clinicians.
Rapid Health’s Smart Triage, which has been running on GP websites since 2023, allows patients a greater choice of type and time of appointment using AI.
Patients could previously request an appointment through the NHS App, but the request would typically be sent to the practice’s inbox and then triaged by a reception team or doctor within 24 hours.
The new integration allows patients to describe their symptoms and receive an instant triage to an appointment with a GP or other care professional, which they can book directly within the app.
Carmelo Insalaco, chief executive at Rapid Health, said: “We’re proving that the NHS’s digital ambitions of improving patient convenience while increasing productivity don’t have to wait until 2028.
“Smart Triage is helping the NHS App improve access to the NHS with real-time triage, instant booking, and genuine 24/7 access, all while releasing clinical capacity. The 8am scramble is becoming a thing of the past.”
The AI-powered Smart Triage functionality is contributing to a target set in the NHS medium term planning framework, which calls for 95% of post-triage appointments to be available via the NHS App by 2028/29.
More than 200 GP practices and primary care networks are using Smart Triage, covering around three million patients across 31 integrated care boards.
The NHS App functionality is being rolled out to all 200 Rapid Health practices throughout early 2026.
Dr Matt Noble, chief medical officer at GP at Hand, an NHS GP practice in London, said: “Since using Rapid Health’s Smart Triage, our patients can access GP care on their terms.
“This isn’t just more convenient, it’s transformed our ability to provide safe, timely care while giving our clinical teams the capacity to focus on what they do best, looking after patients.
“Smart Triage is unlocking our clinical capacity and supporting NHS productivity targets.
“As a result, we’ve seen clinician satisfaction rise by 26%, and patient satisfaction rise by 33%. As a digital-first practice group, we’re committed to providing safe patient choice.
“For GP at Hand, this is what modern general practice looks like, and it’s sustainable.”
The NHS 10 year health plan, published in July 2025, sets out an ambition for the NHS App to become the ‘front door to the NHS’, allowing patients to
book appointments, communicate with professionals, receive advice, draft or view their care plan, and self-refer to local tests and services.
Speaking at the Digital Health Rewired conference on 24 March, Rachel Hope, director of digital prevention services at NHS England, said that the app will shift to becoming a personalised health “companion” over the next few years, through which “people can input data, have information fed back to them, navigate to the next service, but also build an understanding of their health risks”.
