NHS patients to be able to book GP appointments and access medical records via smartphone app

Integrated app will also include NHS 111, and support for patients with long-term conditions

NHS patients are to be given access to their medical records and book an appointment through one smartphone app by the end of 2018, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce today.

Hunt is expected to tell delegates at the Health and Care Innovation Expo in Manchester that the next decade will be for "patient power", transforming the way citizens receive care.

In addition to booking appointments and browsing through their own medical history, patients will also be able to access NHS 111, order repeat prescriptions and even express their organ donation and data-sharing preferences. Patients who are managing a long-term condition will be able to access some form of support via the app, too.

"People should be able to access their own medical records 24/7, show their full medical history to anyone they choose and book basic services like GP appointments or repeat prescriptions online," Hunt said in a Department of Health statement.

Pilot schemes, as part of the £4.3bn personalised health and care 2020 programme, are already underway; for example, patients in South East London are able to access NHS 111, book a GP appointment, order repeat prescriptions and receive online consultations with their GP using a mobile app.

Although these pilots are still being evaluated, the NHS has said that some online trials have been very successful, such as the use of the app MyCOPD, which was created to help patients better manage long-term conditions independently, without having to make appointments at a GP surgery or a hospital. The NHS hopes that this use of technology will eventually become the norm for every patient in the UK.

Sarah Wilkinson, chief executive of NHS Digital said: "We welcome the Secretary of State's clear vision for the provision of technology services which will empower citizens to access NHS services and manage their health. Good digital services will make care safer and more accessible and free-up more time for doctors and nurses to spend with patients.

"We are already working intently towards the delivery of these outcomes and have made substantial progress, in areas including enhancing 111 Online and NHS.UK and launching acute and mental health Global Digital Exemplars," said Wilkinson.

"NHS Digital is committed to achieving the targets outlined by the Secretary of State, by the end of 2018″.