Transforming skin cancer diagnostics using AI across 48 primary care networks

In 2023, Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) implemented DERM to improve early skin cancer detection and increase the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stage one or two. ​​

Our impact

patients seen
0
of potential USSC
referrals avoided
0 %
discharge rate
0 %

Buckshaw Village Surgery and ISSA Medical Group who, together, deliver Primary Care services across Chorley and Preston led the project, making the service accessible across the whole ICB footprint.

The team reached out to the PCN networks and individual practices, onboarding 48 of them into the service, serving approximately 500,000 patients in total.

The challenge

Primary care across Lancashire & South Cumbria had been under strain. Previously, with no community skin service, patients with suspicious skin lesions had to wait to see a GP before being referred to overwhelmed secondary care dermatology services at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT).

At LTHT, the Urgent Suspected Skin Cancer (USSC) pathway received a high volume of referrals with a very low conversion rate. In June 2023, only 1.83% of USSC referrals ended up with a skin cancer diagnosis at LTHT.

The solution

Using Skin Analytics’ AI as a medical device, DERM, a pre-referral community service for skin cancer was implemented, focusing on accessibility and a streamlined patient journey.

When a patient who is worried about a mole or skin lesion contacts their GP practice, they are redirected to a community skin lesion clinic in their locality, avoiding the need for a GP appointment. At the clinic, images of the patient’s skin lesion are captured and these images are uploaded to the Skin Analytics teledermatology platform where DERM makes an assessment, resulting in three possible outcomes:

  1. Where DERM suspects there to be features of skin cancer an USSC referral is initiated to LTHT.
  2. For patients who could be treated in the community or who may need a non-urgent referral, they’re referred to community dermatology services.
  3. For patients with benign lesions, DERM confirms that the patient is eligible for discharge.

 

More from the team at Lancashire & South Cumbria

Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB
Buckshaw Village & ISSA Medical
AAC & SBRI
NHS

This work was commissioned and funded by the NHS Cancer Programme, with the support of SBRI Healthcare and the NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative. The views expressed in the publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS Cancer Programme or its stakeholders.

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