20 June 2016 - Cigna UK HealthCare Benefits (Cigna) and SkinHealth UK have formed an alliance to offer Cigna customers skin cancer diagnostics beginning June 2016. This new service offers customers rapid access to skin cancer specialists.
New research shows that 25 percent of all cancer sufferers see their General Practitioner (GP) three times before being referred for further tests.¹ With Cigna’s new service, customers can self-refer for a skin cancer diagnostic appointment within five working days.
In line with current best practices, customers will be offered a skin cancer assessment which includes:
- A dermatology nurse examination where all suspicious skin lesions are photographed and uploaded to a telemedicine tool and reviewed by consultants;
- Grading and categorising of skin lesions – with customers being informed of the results within five working days; and
- Further investigation by a consultant within 10 working days, if required.
Phil Austin, Cigna’s UK HealthCare Benefits Managing Director commented, “Every week, more than 1,600 people are diagnosed with skin cancer in the UK.² With our new skin cancer diagnostic service, customers can be confident they will get fast access to cancer specialists near their home.”
Dr Pixie McKenna, Clinical Advisor at Check4Cancer highlighted, “There is an overwhelming 750,000 employees in the UK who are living with cancer. It's crucial that employers are well equipped to cope with cancer in the workplace. Early detection is critical for improving rates of cancer survival and limiting the need for, and extent of treatment. This is why the fast-acting service provided by Cigna and SkinHealth UK is so valuable for employers and their employees.”
Per Hall, Clinical Advisor at SkinHealth UK stated, “SkinHealth UK is delighted to collaborate with Cigna to provide diagnostic services for their customers with skin cancer symptoms. Research has shown that the incidence of malignant melanoma has more than quadrupled (360%) since the late 1970s3. Cigna customers can be reassured that they will have quick access to a dermatology nurse within 5 days of initial contact with Cigna – removing the need to see a GP for a referral.”
Cigna was the first health services company in the UK to launch a number of self-referral pathways including physiotherapy in 2008, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in 2015 and in 2016, a OneStop service for breast cancer diagnostics.
For more information please contact:
Nicola Thomson, Marketing Communications Manager Nicola.Thomson@cigna.com
¹European Journal of Cancer Care. Academic research by Cambridge University. September 2015.
² http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/skin-cancer#heading-Zero
³ http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/skin-cancer#heading-Zero