The health service will shortly commence testing the new tech offering with patients in three areas and studying the outcome of these trials with the aim of informing wider rollout

The new online version of the NHS’s health check-up for over 40s is to enter will shortly progress into the pilot stage, with the health service keen to understand the digital tool’s “impact on health inequalities”.

The NHS Health Check – which is available at five-year intervals for citizens aged between 40 and 74 – is intended to help detect elevated risks of conditions including strokes, heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disease. After trials of a prototype in 2022, the planned national rollout of a digital version was announced in summer 2023. The online check will include a questionnaire covering details such as height and weight, as well as the ability to enter the results of remotely conducted blood pressure and blood tests.

Originally scheduled to launch about a year ago, the electronic service is now almost ready to begin a live pilot phase in the service will be available to patients in three local-authority areas: Norfolk; Lambeth; and Kent’s Medway region.

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According to Ashley Dalton, the minister for public health and prevention, these trials will allow government to study the impact of the digital tool and use these insights to help direct policy. The ultimate aim of the service is to “improve access and engagement with the cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme”.

“Increasing uptake in the NHS Health Check Programme through the new online service, for those who are willing and able to do so, will free up primary care capacity to target resources towards underserved groups at the highest risk of CVD,” Dalton said. “A six-month pilot in three local authorities will begin from spring 2025, and, as part of the independent evaluation, we will examine the impact on health inequalities. The results of this will inform the development and rollout of the online service in future.”

The minister, who was answering a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Joe Robertson, added that “the digital service will complement the face-to-face programme and is based on extensive user research and behavioural insight to ensure the service meets user needs”.

She said: “The online service will follow the same assessments and criteria as the current service, signposting people to behavioural support, such as smoking cessation, and clinical management where appropriate. This includes making people aware of the signs and symptoms of dementia and being signposted to memory services as appropriate.”