Patients from low-income backgrounds should be prescribed fitness trackers on the NHS, in order to help prevent the development of long-term health conditions.

A report by think tank Social Market Foundation (SMF) suggests that technology – in general – should be adopted quicker and more widely by the NHS to improve the care that patients receive and to drive better health outcomes.

The report argues that technology offers huge opportunities to keep patients out of the NHS by aiding the prevention of disease – and reducing the likelihood of people having to enter hospital care in the first place.

SMF also says that better digital management of long-term conditions can help avoid unnecessary readmissions into hospitals.

"We envisage huge potential to expand the use of apps to improve how the NHS interacts with patients, to ‘gamify’ desired health outcomes, and to use behavioural nudges to change behaviours," the report reads.

To read the full report, click here.