The National Health Service (NHS) of the UK proudly reported that in less than a month, from May 17 to June 14, 2021, 5 million people logged into the NHS app.

In such a small amount of time, the NHS app has gained 2.7 million new users. 51,000 records, 614,000 prescriptions, 50,000 doctor appointments. Sounds like a success.

This ties in well with the NHS Draft Data Strategy released on June 22, 2021 that aims to bring patients closer to their medical information. And in doing so, it has helped to characterize COVID-19 risk among older males with diabetes and asthma. The NHS app can help mine for this kind of information.

In Canada, we do not have a “National Health app”. There is no “OHIP app”. There is myUHN patient portal, MyChart Mount Sinai, PocketHealth St. Michael’s Hospital, to name a few.

To each their own, depending on the hospital network. The only app that has made waves in the past year is the COVID-19 app with notorious headlines: “Canada’s COVID Alert app is ‘completely useless’ right now: health expert”; “Canada’s COVID Alert app is a case of tech-driven bad policy design”; “Majority of Canadians not using COVID Alert app, study finds” and “Was Canada’s COVID Alert app a hit or a miss?”.

On July 31, 2020, we had just bore the brunt of the First Wave and the Government of Canada was optimistic that we would have a better handle of this pandemic by rolling out the new COVID-19 app. By way of Bluetooth, mobile phones within 2 metres apart sense if someone has tested positive for COVID-19 because of a one-time key that is assigned to the infected person.

Through simple subtraction (Total 1,419,018 COVID-19 cases as of June 24, 2021 minus 115,799 cases as of July 31, 2020), there were 1,303,219 new cases covering the life span of this app to present date. Compare this number to the 33,904 one-time keys (ie. positive cases reported through the app). Sadly, only 2.6% of positive COVID-19 cases actually used the app.

It is no wonder that Canadians flinched at installing the COVID-19 app for it implied that they would have to self-isolate each time they were within 2 metres of a positive case. The app could be pinging left and right, while going down the street. An endless merry-go-round of self-isolation stints, all the while losing wages.

And with the recent study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on June 17, 2021, implying that 53% of the 20,991 medical apps for patients do not comply with privacy policy – it is no wonder that Canadians would think twice before forking over their personal information. Do you really want everyone to know that you tested positive for COVID-19?

For what it’s worth, 6 million people did not just wake up one day and feel compelled to download the NHS app. The impetus was that as of May 17, 2021, they could wield their vaccination status in order to enter sports stadiums and finally board a plane. The NHS app transformed into a “Get out of Jail Card Free” and in the process, it netted 2.7 million new users into eHealth, as an indirect by-product.

If Canada were to similarly adopt a National Health app, it would need to be safe, non-punitive, highly regulated and exist for the best interest of the patients.

Photo credit: Pixabay.com