Following Scotland, English GPs to offer health 'apps'

The Department of Health, in an initiative described as the "next step" in its drive to give patients more control over their own health, has revealed that plans are underway to allow doctors to give patients ‘health apps' for their smartphones.
Using the app, patients will be able to have online consultations with any member of their clinical team, receive automated explanations of their results, work with clinicians for a personalised care plan, check their own sugar levels or read their blood pressure at home.
An app for smartphones and tablets released in Scotland last April, proved to be hugely popular and a success, having been downloaded tens of thousands of times.
The SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) app, available for tabs, iPhones and Android phones,  offered guidelines on a wide range of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, diabetes and the management of asthma and psoriasis.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley this morning talked about the idea at an event showcasing ideas for health apps, and he said: "So many people use apps every day to keep up with their friends, with the news, find out when the next bus will turn up or which train to catch.
"Innovation and technology can revolutionise the health service, and we are looking at how the NHS can use these apps for the benefit of patients, including how GPs could offer them for free."
One app trialled by the NHS was called "Patient Knows Best", which allows patients access to their own records and control who else is allowed to see them. 
It is thought that GPs will be able to prescribe the apps to patients, and full details of how this will work will be in the Westminster Government's Information Strategy expected this Spring.
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