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Manage patient accounts

This guide helps NHS staff to understand the NHS App and explains how it works in relation to your GP clinical system.

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Ensure patients have access

Make sure that Detailed Coded Record (DCR) or full record access for your patient is switched on for your patient in your clinical system.

The patient’s access will be visible from the date set in your clinical system, the date they joined the practice or requested online access.

Resetting your patients account

The linkage key or passphrase has an expiry date of 2 weeks from the date it is printed. This is a security feature that ensures the PIN document can only be used once.

Using Optum (EMIS)

You will need to reset your patient's linkage key in EMIS Web:

1. Go to the online services tab.

2.. Select View online user.

3. Select Reset linkage key.

4. Then select identity verification.

5. Verify their identity, for example by checking proof of address.

6. Once the reset has been complete, you can give the patient their new PIN document.

Using TPP

Your patients can reset their passphrase by visiting the TPP website. 

They will need the PIN document with their account ID and ODS code to do this. 

Deleting an NHS account

Do not delete an NHS account or advise patients to delete their account unless you have been specifically advised to do so as part of a workaround.

Deleting an account can cause significant issues and may result in patients receiving error messages.

If a patient no longer has access to the email linked to their account and can't remember their password, or if a technical issue is preventing them from logging in, they can request to replace their account.

Patient personal data is incorrect

The NHS App connects to your local clinical system and also pulls information from the NHS SPINE for example patient name. When patients raise a demographic issue, both your local system and the central database (PDS/SPINE).

Set up a test patient

We encourage you to set up a test patient so that you can see how features appear to patients in their NHS App. This test patient’s NHS number is different from the ones previously issued for example. Minnie Mouse, as they are live on SPINE.

Last edited: 24 February 2026 11:39 am