SystmOnline Guide

SystmOnline Blood Test Results, No Download Button

SystmOnline shows your results on screen but will not export them as a file. Here is the reliable workaround, and what to do with the file once you have it.

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This page explains how to save a blood test result from SystmOnline and what happens to it once it reaches SmarterBlood. It is not medical advice. Only your GP or practice nurse, who has access to your full history, can tell you what a result means for you.

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026 · First published: 26 September 2026 · Reviewed against the sources listed at the end of this page.

The Quick Answer

SystmOnline, the patient portal built by TPP for many NHS GP practices, has no download or export button next to your results. It is built for reading a result on screen, not for saving it as a file. The workaround is your own browser, not SystmOnline: open the result, use Print, and choose Save as PDF as the destination instead of a printer.

That PDF keeps the actual text of your result, not just a picture of it, which matters because it is what lets SmarterBlood, or anything else, read the values properly. Once you have the PDF, upload it free at SmarterBlood to see every marker explained in plain English and plotted over time, even alongside results from a different GP practice or a different country entirely.

Step 1: Open the result on a desktop browser

Step 2: Print, then Save as PDF

Step 3: Upload the PDF free

Why SystmOnline Has No Download Button

SystmOnline sits in front of SystmOne, the clinical record system used across a large share of NHS GP practices in England. Its patient-facing side is designed around viewing information in your browser: appointments, repeat prescriptions, messages to the practice, and test results once your practice has switched result sharing on. Exporting a result as a standalone file was never part of that design, so no result screen carries a download, export or save button.

This is not unique to SystmOnline. Most patient portals built primarily for viewing records, rather than for sharing them onward, leave the file format up to whatever your own browser can produce. That is exactly why the browser Print function, not the website, is the tool that actually solves this.

Step By Step: Print Your Result To PDF

This takes about a minute per test date once you have done it once. It works the same way in Chrome, Edge and Safari, with only small differences in wording.

Open SystmOnline on a desktop or laptop browser

Sign in to SystmOnline the usual way and go to the section that lists your test results, sometimes called Medical Record or Test Results depending on how your GP practice has set it up. A desktop browser gives you a full print preview, which a phone often does not.

Open the specific result you want to keep

Click into the individual test date so the full results table is on screen, with every marker, its value, its unit and its reference range visible. If the table is long, scroll to check nothing is cut off by the page before you print.

Use your browser Print command, not a screenshot

Press Ctrl+P on Windows or Command+P on a Mac, or use the browser menu and choose Print. A screenshot only captures a picture of the pixels on your screen, which cannot be reliably read back as text later, and it is easy to miss part of a table that runs off the visible screen.

Choose Save as PDF as the destination

In the print dialog, change the destination or printer from your usual printer to Save as PDF (Chrome and Edge both offer this directly; on a Mac you can also use the PDF button in the bottom left of the print dialog). This creates a real PDF file with a text layer, rather than sending anything to a physical printer.

Check the preview before saving

Look at the print preview panel and confirm every row of the results table is visible and not cut off at the page edge. If a column is being trimmed, try landscape orientation instead of portrait in the print settings, then check the preview again.

Save the file somewhere you will find it again

Give the file a clear name, such as the test date, and save it to your Downloads folder or a folder you use for medical paperwork. You will want it again if you ever change GP practice or see a specialist.

Upload the PDF to SmarterBlood, or email it

Upload it free at smarterblood.org, or send it as an attachment to mail@smarterblood.org from the email address you want linked to your account. Repeat the same six steps for each earlier test date you want included, so your graphs go back as far as possible.

Do not rely on a screenshot. A screenshot looks identical to a PDF on screen but stores only an image of the pixels, with no underlying text. It cannot be reliably read back later by SmarterBlood, by your GP practice, or by any other tool, and it is easy to miss part of a table that scrolls below the visible screen. Print, Save as PDF is the version worth keeping.

PDF, Photo, Or Both, Which Should You Upload?

Browser PDF (recommended)

Made with Print, Save as PDF from SystmOnline. Keeps the real text of the page, so every marker, value and reference range is exact. This is the method described on this page and the one to use whenever you have access to a computer.

Photo of a printed letter

If your practice posted or handed you a printed results letter instead, SmarterBlood also accepts a clear photo of it, taken flat and well lit with no glare across the numbers. This is a separate situation to SystmOnline, but a common one for older results.

What About The Web Address, Page Numbers And Timestamp?

A page printed from SystmOnline always carries some browser and portal furniture that has nothing to do with your actual result. None of it needs to be trimmed out before you upload, SmarterBlood already ignores it.

The web address in the header or footer

Example: systmonline.tpp-uk.com, or a similar TPP web address

Ignored completely. It is not a marker, a value or a date, so it plays no part in your results.

Page numbers

Example: Page 1 of 2

Ignored. When a result runs across two printed pages, both pages are read as one continuous results table.

The print date and time stamp

Example: A date and time added automatically by the browser at the moment you printed

Ignored for the results themselves. SmarterBlood uses the actual test or collection date printed within the results table, not the date you happened to print the page.

Your name and date of birth in the page header

Example: Patient name and date of birth as shown by SystmOnline

Used only to check the report matches the account uploading it, never stored as a blood marker.

Practice name, address and phone number

Example: The GP practice detail block that SystmOnline adds to most printed pages

Ignored. This describes where the record came from, not a test result.

UK Marker Names SmarterBlood Recognises

NHS reports through SystmOnline use British spelling and, for some tests, slightly longer wording than reports from other countries. SmarterBlood reads the UK forms below the same way it reads their more familiar short names.

Haemoglobin estimation

Also seen as: Haemoglobin, Hb

The full phrase estimation is sometimes used on NHS full blood count reports. It means the same haemoglobin test as anywhere else.

Mean cell volume

Also seen as: MCV, mean corpuscular volume

UK reports usually say cell rather than corpuscular. Same measurement, same reference range.

Mean cell haemoglobin level

Also seen as: MCH, mean corpuscular haemoglobin

Occasionally written out in full rather than as the initials MCH.

White cell count

Also seen as: WCC, white blood cell count, WBC

Total white cells. Do not confuse with the individual types listed below it, such as neutrophils and lymphocytes.

Platelet count

Also seen as: Platelets, PLT

Same test worldwide, occasionally written as thrombocyte count on older report formats.

Serum creatinine

Also seen as: Creatinine

The word serum simply means it was measured from the liquid part of a blood sample, and can usually be ignored when reading the value.

eGFR (using creatinine, CKD-EPI 2021)

Also seen as: eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate

UK labs commonly print the calculation method in brackets. SmarterBlood reads the eGFR value itself regardless of which formula name is shown.

Serum TSH level

Also seen as: TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone

Serum again just describes the sample type, not a different test.

HbA1c level (IFCC)

Also seen as: HbA1c, glycated haemoglobin

UK and most of the world now report HbA1c in mmol per mol under the IFCC standard, rather than the older percentage figure.

Serum ferritin

Also seen as: Ferritin

Iron store marker, read the same way regardless of the serum prefix.

Getting The Most Out Of Your History

SystmOnline typically shows one test date per screen, so a full year of blood tests means repeating the print, Save as PDF step once for each date. It is worth doing before you upload the first time, because SmarterBlood plots each marker across every date you give it, which is where a single result becomes far more useful, a trend rather than a snapshot.

If you have changed GP practice, or you have older results from before your practice offered SystmOnline, those can be uploaded too, whatever format they are in. SmarterBlood matches markers by name, not by which system produced the report, so a haemoglobin from a paper letter three years ago sits on the same graph as one from SystmOnline last week.

Sources and reference ranges

Adult reference ranges on this page follow the AACB and RCPA harmonised reference intervals unless stated otherwise; the range printed on your own report always takes precedence because laboratories differ.

SystmOnline Blood Test Results, Frequently Asked Questions

Why can I not download my blood test results from SystmOnline?

SystmOnline (built by TPP for GP practices) is designed to display results on screen, not to export them as a file. There is no download or export button next to a result. The reliable workaround is to open the result page in a desktop browser and use the browser own Print function, then choose Save as PDF as the destination instead of a physical printer. This keeps the actual text of the result, not just a picture of it.

Is Print to PDF the same as downloading the page?

For SystmOnline results it is the closest thing available and it works well, because the PDF keeps the underlying text rather than turning the page into an image. Screenshots can look identical on screen but store only pixels, so a screenshot cannot be searched or reliably read by any tool, including SmarterBlood. Always use Print, Save as PDF rather than a screenshot when you want to keep a result.

Can I do this on my phone instead of a computer?

It is more reliable on a desktop or laptop browser. Mobile browsers vary in how they handle Print, and some mobile print dialogs shrink or crop the page in ways that lose values from the edges of a table. If a computer is available, use it. If you only have a phone, check the PDF preview carefully before saving and make sure every row of the results table is visible.

My results cover several dates. Do I need to print each one separately?

Yes. SystmOnline generally shows one test date per screen, so you print, Save as PDF, and upload once for each date you want tracked. This is worth doing properly the first time, because SmarterBlood plots each marker across every date you upload, which is far more useful than any single result on its own.

Will the page numbers and web address on the printed result confuse SmarterBlood?

No. Printed pages from SystmOnline typically carry page furniture such as the systmonline.tpp-uk.com web address, a page number like Page 1 of 2, and a print timestamp in the header or footer. SmarterBlood is built to ignore this kind of furniture and read only the marker names, values, units and reference ranges from the results table.

Does SmarterBlood understand UK blood test names and units?

Yes. UK reports commonly use spellings and terms such as haemoglobin, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and white cell count, alongside UK units like mmol per litre. SmarterBlood recognises these UK forms as well as the equivalent Australian and American names, so a report from an NHS GP practice extracts the same way as one from any other country.

Is SmarterBlood affiliated with the NHS, TPP or SystmOnline?

No. SmarterBlood is an independent, free tool. It is not affiliated with the NHS, with TPP (the company behind SystmOne and SystmOnline), or with any GP practice or laboratory. This guide describes how SystmOnline behaves so that patients can save their own results, nothing more.

What do I do with the PDF once I have it?

Upload it free at smarterblood.org, or email it as an attachment to mail@smarterblood.org. SmarterBlood reads every marker on the page, plots each one on its own graph over time, flags anything outside the typical range, and gives a plain English explanation. You can also generate a printable summary to take to your GP.