On May 1st 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its Early Value Assessment (EVA) of ‘Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for assessing and triaging skin lesions within the urgent suspected skin cancer pathway‘.
For NHS organisations considering deploying AI as a medical device, this means:
DERM is the only AI that can be autonomously deployed within the NHS using core NHS funding for patients with Fitzpatrick I through to IV. Patients with Fitzpatrick V and VI skin types are not eligible for autonomous DERM assessment. Over the next 3 years, more evidence will be collected to finalise a full NICE approval.
For the autonomous use DERM, NICE specifically stated:
‘Comparative evidence suggests that DERM may be able to identify a cancer lesion with similar accuracy to teledermatology or face-to-face dermatology assessment, with further evidence suggesting it could halve the number of referrals to dermatologists within the urgent skin cancer pathway while maintaining patient safety.‘
This decision provides a clear and long-awaited signal for NHS organisations already deploying DERM, and a confident path forward for those looking to adopt it. This recognition further validates years of clinical work, real-world evidence, and regulatory approval.
We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve been doing with the NHS over the last 5 years to achieve this recommendation from NICE. Having seen more than 165,000 patients and found more than 15,500 cancers since launching, we are ready to make our Class III autonomous skin cancer AI available to more UK patients. This is a great example of how the UK leads the world in pioneering and scaling leading AI health solutions to the benefit of our people.
NICE’s time-limited recommendation, alongside our CE Class III certification, positions Skin Analytics as the global leader in regulated AI. It is yet further evidence to support what we – and our partners – have long believed and crucially, evidenced: DERM is a safe, effective and the scalable solution to one of the NHS’s most pressing challenges.
At Skin Analytics, our mission has always been to help more people survive skin cancer. With over 2.4 million referrals for dermatology services in 2024 alone, including 700,000 urgent skin cancer referrals, the NHS is under immense pressure. Most referrals for urgent cancer are not high risk cancer, but each one adds to the burden – delaying care for those who need it most.
DERM can change that.
This moment belongs not only to our incredible people but to our visionary NHS partners who embraced DERM and delivered better care for their patients before NICE guidance arrived. Your leadership and commitment to innovation have helped pave the way for this progress – so thank you.
For those looking to improve dermatology care for their patients, please get in touch. We’re ready and together we can deliver a resilient service and help more people survive skin cancer.