NHS England has awarded IBM a 160.1 million contract to transform the NHS App into a personalised health companion over two years, running from the start of May 2026 to the end of March 2028.

Planned features include easy access to health records, timely reminders and results, streamlined journeys, AI-driven triage for unplanned care, and the option to access hospital-quality care at home.

The NHS App is expected to become the national channel for preventative healthcare, enabling vaccinations, screening, and digital health checks at scale.

The two-year expansion does not extend the core contract’s expiry, which remains set for June 2026, signaling a broader shift from treatment to prevention in the NHS 10-year plan.

At the Digital Health Rewired conference, NHS England’s Rachel Hope described the NHS App’s evolution from a frontline ‘front door’ to a central companion that can ingest data, provide feedback, and guide users to next services while assessing health risks.

The contract cements IBM as a strategic delivery partner to build secure, reliable, user-centred pathways and services at scale within the NHS App.

This latest contract follows IBM’s earlier award of 52.4 million in 2022 for development and maintenance, which rose to 78.6 million by 2025 after an uplift; the original 48-month deal allowed a potential extension, which did not apply to the uplifted amount.