NHS may track your step count to encourage active lifestyle

HealtH editor

THE NHS could track patients’ step counts under government plans to persuade people to be more active, the Health Secretary has suggested.

Victoria Atkins said the “wealth of data” collected by phones would be harnessed by the health service as part of a drive to prevent serious illnesses and get more people back to work.

In Wednesday’s Budget statement the Chancellor said a £3.4 billion technology and productivity plan would make the NHS app “a single front door for patients”.

Health officials are now working on plans to enable the health service to use data such as step counts and heart rate – already collected by most smartphones – to provide personalised advice, screening and treatment that stops people developing major diseases.

Ms Atkins’s predecessors have long talked about using the power of wearable technology to “nudge” people out of unhealthy lifestyles.

Health officials said the parameters of how the app could be used are still in development, with patient consent required for the data collected to be used by the NHS.

In an interview with the Health Secretary said she would reveal a new “strategic approach” on prevention to “sit side by side” with the NHS productivity drive announced in the budget. She added that the reforms would have a “really important role” in reducing the record 2.8 million people off work with long-term sickness. A strong economy helps pay for the NHS but actually a strong NHS helps a growing economy.”

Ministers said that of the new investment, £430 million will be put into the NHS app, to ensure that “we as a nation feel healthier”.