NHS England explores at-home diagnostic testing through NHS App
NHS England is exploring the feasibility of a national home-testing service that would allow people to order, complete and receive results from clinically validated diagnostic tests at home through the NHS App.
The proposal forms part of NHS England’s HomeTest Programme, with the organisation inviting industry providers to take part in a market engagement exercise for programme delivery. The Atamis listing describes the work as a market engagement exercise and names NHS England as the contracting authority. It opened on 20 April 2026, with a response deadline of 5 May 2026.
According to the official procurement notice, the programme is seeking to understand the feasibility of establishing a “single, trusted national home testing capability” that would enable individuals to order, complete and receive results from diagnostic tests at home, integrated into the NHS App and aligned with national screening, monitoring, treatment and prevention ambitions.
The exercise is designed to assess supplier market capability and inform the future development of the programme. NHS England has not yet confirmed the operating model for national home testing, including whether services would be managed nationally, commissioned locally, or delivered through a combination of both. Pulse Today reported that supplier responses will inform the analysis and any recommendation, with no pre-determined outcome.
Areas identified for initial consideration include sexual health, gastroenterology, urology, gynaecology, orthopaedics, rheumatology and primary care. The potential tests listed in market engagement documents include HIV and hepatitis C testing; faecal calprotectin, coeliac, ferritin and urea and electrolyte tests; total prostate specific antigen testing; follicle-stimulating hormone, human papillomavirus, STI screening, urine dip testing, urine culture and HbA1c; MRSA testing linked to orthopaedic services; full blood count, liver function, creatinine, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate tests; and primary care tests including estimated glomerular filtration rate, cholesterol level, serum creatinine and urinary albumin.
The NHS App is already being developed as a central access point for a wider range of NHS services. NHS England Digital’s roadmap says the app is intended to help users take more control of their health and care, support self-service, reduce administrative pressure on frontline teams and connect people to prevention services. The roadmap also states that users view GP health records through the app more than 30 million times a month, including 10 million views of test results.
NHS England’s current app roadmap also notes ongoing work to help users view detailed test results and more easily interpret changes between consecutive results, while further services are being integrated into the app.
However, the HomeTest Programme remains at an exploratory stage. GP leaders have highlighted that any expansion of NHS-supported home testing would need to be evidence-based, clinically validated, carefully targeted and supported by appropriate clinical oversight and follow-up. Concerns raised include the risk of unclear or misleading results creating unnecessary anxiety or avoidable demand on GP services.
If taken forward, the programme could support NHS ambitions to give patients more convenient access to diagnostic testing and results from home. NHS England has indicated that it wants the service to be operational in 2027/28, subject to feasibility recommendations and ministerial sign-off.
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