Nationally, urgent skin cancer 2WW referrals are increasing by more than 11% each year and without innovation, we cannot expect our dermatology teams to be able to achieve these targets in the future.
Despite the significant and sustained efforts from dermatology teams across the country, cancer wait time targets are not being met. Provisional NHS data suggests that at the end of 2022, 1 in 10 urgent skin cancer referrals waited more than 4 weeks for a first assessment. Diagnostic delays of 2 weeks or more can lead to a 20% decrease in 5-year-survival rates. [3]
[3] Pacifico M, Pearl R, Grover R.
The UK Government Two-Week Rule and its Impact on Melanoma Prognosis: An Evidence-Based Study.
The Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. 2007;89(6):609-615.
GP refers to secondary care on the 2WW pathway as normal.
Patients’ first appointments are at an imaging clinic, where consent, medical history, context and dermoscopic images are captured.
DERM assesses the dermoscopic images of lesions only.
Based on the outcome of the AI assessment, the case will be directed to the right level of care.
Patients are sent an outcome letter confirming the results and are discharged from the 2WW pathway.
At the end of Q4 2022/2023, Skin Analytics had assessed over 50,000 NHS patients for suspicion of skin cancer. Our performance reporting shows our system consistently performs at a level comparable to specialists while reducing the number of 2WW referrals dermatology teams need to review face to face.
If you would like to know more about how Skin Analytics can help you and your dermatology team deliver best in class dermatology, get in touch.
