The U.K. Department of Health and Social Care will launch a health app for patients across England in December.
The app, developed by NHS Digital and NHS England, will provide patients with access to their medical record, along with functions for them to schedule general practitioner appointments, order repeat prescriptions and reach NHS 111 — the U.K. National Health Services' free helpline — online for urgent medical inquiries.
The app will also enable patients to select preferences related to data sharing, organ donation and end-of-life care.
The Department of Health and Social Care will roll out the app for testing in September, and plans for its general release across England in December via download on Apple's App Store and Google's Play store, the BBC reports.
U.K. Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt described the app as a "birthday present from the NHS to the British people," 70 years after the NHS was founded, according to the BBC.
"Technology has transformed everyday life when it comes to banking, travel and shopping," Mr. Hunt said in the department's July 2 statement. "Health matters much more to all of us, and the prize of that same digital revolution in healthcare isn't just convenience but lives improved, extended and saved."
NHS England National Director of Operations and Information Matthew Swindells emphasized the app rollout is just one of the department's plans to bring technology into the nation's healthcare landscape.
"We are also developing an NHS Apps Library and putting free NHS wifi in GP surgeries and hospitals," he said.