8.5 There’s an App for That: Medicines in the Digital NHS with Rahul Singal

In an era where “there’s an app for that” is increasingly the answer, we turn our attention to what digital transformation really means for medicines. Not just convenience and clicks, but safety, understanding, and how people actually experience care.

In this episode, hosted by Jamie Hayes, STC, and Gimmo, we’re joined by Rahul Singal, Senior Responsible Officer for the Digital Medicines Programme at NHS England. Rahul offers a clear-eyed view of the digitisation of the medicines pathway — from prescribing and dispensing to how patients interact with their medicines through tools like the NHS App.

Together, we explore the promise and the pitfalls of digital pharmacy: innovations in community pharmacy, the realities of electronic health records, and the tensions between national ambition and local delivery. This is a conversation about progress — but also about complexity, equity, and what it really takes to make digital healthcare work in practice.

Rahul Singal is the Senior Responsible Officer for the Digital Medicines Programme within the Transformation Directorate at NHS England. He leads work to digitise the medicines pathway across the NHS, including e-prescribing, automation, transfer of medicines information, and prescription ordering via the NHS App. He is also Senior Advisor for digital pharmacy and medicines, and Professional Lead for pharmacy in clinical informatics. He has held senior leadership roles across the NHS, including Chief Pharmacist in a London NHS Trust, and was the first Clinical Fellow to the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, where he led national work on seven-day pharmacy services. Like Gimmo, he holds a Master’s in Leadership (Quality Improvement) from Ashridge Executive Education and is a Generation Q Fellow.

For our micro-discussion we discuss the paper “Qualitative evaluation of the implementation and national roll-out of the NHS App in England” which examines how the NHS App was implemented during the pandemic and beyond; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39838384/.

As with all of our guests, Rahul shares with us his Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced his life. From Prescription to Ocean — A TEDx Talk by Jamie HayesWe’re incredibly proud to share that Aural Apothecary co-host Jamie Hayes has taken to the TEDx stage with a thought-provoking talk:  Prescription to Ocean: The Hidden Impact of Medicineshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swCLNaAG5qYJamie explores a fascinating and urgent question: What happens to our medicines once they leave the prescription pad — and how do they impact the world beyond the patient? It’s a journey that connects healthcare, the environment, and our shared responsibility for the future. You’ll never think about prescribing (or taking) medicines in quite the same way again.Please take a few minutes to watch, reflect, and share — this is a conversation worth having.Please follow us on LinkedIn!

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