Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 31 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government to provide an update on the roll-out of the digital app MyCare.scot, and whether it will provide a timeline for the development of additional services as part of the app, including the facility for patients to view, book and manage appointments, to order repeat prescriptions, and to access test results.
MyCare.scot was rolled out nationally across Scotland from April 2026 and will continue to develop incrementally through the Scottish Government’s Digital Front Door (DFD) programme. A free downloadable app is also available via both the Apple and Google store. More information regarding the MyCare.scot rollout can be found in the National Rollout Plan (https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-social-care-app-mycare-scot-national-rollout-high-level-summary/pages/4/), published September 2025.
Through established sub-national planning and implementation arrangements, the Digital Front Door programme is prioritising the rollout of digital communications and appointment functionality across all NHS territorial health boards before expansion into wider health and care services. The initial phase due for delivery in 2027/28 is focused on enabling patients to view secondary care appointment information and related communications digitally. This capability will be enhanced incrementally in collaboration with other digital projects, including GP IT reprovisioning and the Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways (DPDP) programme, to enable users to book, manage appointments and order their prescriptions online.
The DPDP programme will replace paper prescriptions with a secure, end-to-end digital prescribing and dispensing system. The roll out of a minimum viable product will commence at the end of 2028 and the current trajectory is for patient-facing benefits via MyCare.scot, including prescription ordering, from 2029.
The programme recognises that providing access to test results through MyCare.scot could deliver significant benefits for patients. However, in some circumstances, direct access to results may be inappropriate and could cause unnecessary anxiety or distress. Any implementation will therefore need to be carefully designed to ensure it is clinically safe and that results are presented with appropriate context, explanation and supporting information. This work is currently being considered and scheduled as part of the wider Digital Front Door and MyCare.scot development plans.