Ministers plan to use NHS app to expand clinical trials as part of UK-wide drive

Patients in England will be matched with studies and encouraged to take part via smartphone notifications

The government is aiming for a significant expansion of clinical trials in the UK, and plans to use the NHS app to encourage millions of people in England to take part in the search for new treatments.

Patients will eventually be automatically matched with studies based on their health data and interests, via the app. The plans envisage alerting them to the trials using smartphone notifications.