Leading cash plan provider Medicash has launched a skin cancer detection app in partnership with SkinVision.
Available free of charge to all policyholders on a company-paid health cash plan, the SkinVision app can detect 95% of skin cancer.
The SkinVision app is certified by the British Standards Institute (BSI) and across the globe it has nearly 1.3 million users. To date, 3.5 million moles and skin spots have been analysed and over 40,000 skin cancers found, proving that this app really can save lives.
On average 1 in 5 people will develop skin cancer at some point in their lifetime, with UV exposure being the biggest cause of this type of cancer. Just one case of severe sunburn heavily increases your chances of getting skin cancer in the future.
Users will have access to an unlimited number of tests worth over £45 per year. The SkinVision app also allows users to store photos to keep track of changes over time, helping both them and their doctor to monitor changes in the long term.
Sue Weir, chief executive of Medicash said: “We are offering our policyholders a simple and effective way to check their skin for skin cancer. This app provides an instant risk assessment and advice on what you should do next, including seeing a doctor, if needed.
“It is invaluable at a time when many are worried about seeing their GP or wasting the NHS’s time. With the launch of this app we hope to detect more skin cancers at an early stage when they are most treatable.”
The timing of the launch is particularly important when Cancer referrals have dropped by up to 80% in some areas as individuals are put off from consulting with a GP over symptoms they would have done prior to ‘lockdown’.¹
Shellie Campbell Birch, a current user of the SkinVision app said: “SkinVision helped me to realise that nobody is too busy to look after their health, using this app takes seconds, so there’s no excuse.
“I downloaded the app, and my husband took a photo of the spot on my back. Within 30 seconds, it came back with a ‘high risk’ assessment. I called my doctor after reading the message and scheduled an appointment the next day.”
Erik de Heus, chief executive of SkinVision said: “We are thrilled to work with Medicash to support their corporate members across the UK with the early detection of skin cancer.
Digital technology is quickly transforming the approach to healthcare as we know it.
“Our service can provide users with the technology to quickly and accurately assess their skin spots from the comfort of home, giving them the chance to seek care and treatment in time, if needed. We’re very excited to see how the partnership will evolve.”
To access this free, new service from Medicash, policyholders just need to follow the link from within their current My Medicash App.