<s>
The	O
NHS	B-Application
App	I-Application
allows	O
patients	O
using	O
the	O
National	O
Health	O
Service	O
in	O
England	O
to	O
book	O
appointments	O
with	O
their	O
GP	O
,	O
order	O
repeat	O
prescriptions	O
and	O
access	O
their	O
GP	O
record	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Available	O
since	O
late	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
NHS	O
Digital	O
and	O
NHS	O
England	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
was	O
piloted	O
from	O
October	O
2018	O
and	O
plans	O
were	O
to	O
roll	O
it	O
out	O
across	O
England	O
in	O
December	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patients	O
are	O
to	O
be	O
sent	O
a	O
text	O
message	O
from	O
their	O
GP	O
practice	O
inviting	O
them	O
to	O
download	O
the	O
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
app	B-Application
was	O
accompanied	O
by	O
a	O
decision	O
that	O
the	O
name	O
NHS	O
Choices	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
abandoned	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
future	O
the	O
NHS	O
site	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
called	O
"	O
the	O
NHS	O
website	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
although	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
publicly	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
store	I-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
desktop	O
webpage	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
December	O
,	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
made	O
operational	O
to	O
patients	O
"	O
one	O
STP	O
or	O
one	O
CCG	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
process	O
which	O
was	O
expected	O
to	O
take	O
several	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
2019	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
planned	O
to	O
support	O
GP	O
video	O
consultations	O
and	O
connect	O
to	O
an	O
Apple	B-Device
Watch	I-Device
or	O
FitBit	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
uses	O
the	O
NHS	O
login	O
to	O
verify	O
the	O
identity	O
of	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
establishment	O
in	O
early	O
2019	O
of	O
NHSX	O
as	O
a	O
central	O
IT	O
department	O
for	O
the	O
NHS	O
,	O
chief	O
executive	O
Matthew	O
Gould	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
app	B-Application
should	O
not	O
have	O
any	O
more	O
features	O
,	O
but	O
should	O
be	O
a	O
platform	O
allowing	O
"	O
other	O
people	O
innovate	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
it	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2020	O
,	O
facial	O
verification	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
authenticate	O
new	O
sign-ups	O
to	O
the	O
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
users	O
submit	O
a	O
photo	O
from	O
an	O
official	O
document	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
passport	B-Protocol
or	O
a	O
driving	O
licence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
's	O
developers	O
said	O
this	O
feature	O
could	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
COVID-19	O
"	O
immunity	O
passports	B-Protocol
"	O
providing	O
documented	O
proof	O
of	O
users	O
 '	O
immunity	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
past	O
infection	O
,	O
an	O
idea	O
which	O
has	O
proved	O
controversial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
17	O
May	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
can	O
display	O
COVID-19	O
vaccination	O
records	O
,	O
initially	O
to	O
assist	O
users	O
in	O
proving	O
their	O
vaccination	O
status	O
when	O
travelling	O
overseas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
had	O
almost	O
5	O
million	O
monthly	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
and	O
June	O
2021	O
,	O
over	O
1.2million	O
repeat	O
prescriptions	O
and	O
100,000	O
GP	O
appointments	O
were	O
arranged	O
through	O
the	O
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
mid-July	O
,	O
eight	O
weeks	O
after	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
COVID-19	O
vaccination	O
status	O
,	O
over	O
10	O
million	O
users	O
had	O
registered	O
with	O
the	O
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
