Scotland’s Digital Front Door platform, which will help people manage their NHS information online and includes an app, will launch by the end of the year, according to first minister John Swinney.

Swinney announced the platform on a speech given at Heriot Watt University’s National Robotarium on renewing the NHS.

The platform and associated app will be rolled out in phases, beginning in Lanarkshire.

“This Digital Front Door will begin rollout from the end of this year, starting in Lanarkshire, and, over time, it will become an ever more central, ever more important access and management point for care in Scotland,” Swinney said.

The first minister described the app as a “much-needed addition” to NHS services to improve patients interactions with health and care teams, as well as manage their own health and care data.

The Digital Front Door aims to enable people to access their health information online, as well as manage their data, with options for interacting with services, and get notifications.

The announcement joined Swinney’s speech on the overall renewal of the NHS, with assurances that an increased use of digital solutions and technology would improve capacity, delivery, and outcomes for health and social care services.

The first minister alluded to opportunities presented by AI as well as robotics, saying that the government intends to create centres to “capitalise on the technological innovation and the potential” of these technologies.

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He also highlighted the importance of using already existing data to improve the delivery of services.

“Better use of data will ensure that more operating theatres are working at maximum capacity, with best practice approaches, approaches shown to increase productivity by 20% , rolled out across the country,” he said.

“Using existing capacity, more operations will be delivered – enabling us to also deliver shorter waiting times. The latest innovations in genetic testing will be harnessed to enable better targeting of medications in cases ranging from recent stroke patients to new-born infants with bacterial infections.”

The app has been in development since 2022, and comes five years after the English NHS app was launched, and two years after the Welsh version came out.