TORONTO, Jan. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Skinopathy, a Canadian medical technology start-up founded in 2020 has launched GetSkinHelp.com, an OHIP-covered online service that reduces the wait times to see a skin cancer specialist from several months to mere hours.
According to a research paper published in 2017 by the official journal of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, dermatology is the most requested family physician referral and has an average wait time of 41 days. However, it is not unusual for most people to wait several months before they can see a skin cancer specialist, especially in under-serviced regions. With the arrival of the COVID–19 lockdowns, wait times are now even longer.
The typical process to have a skin lesion diagnosed as potentially cancerous requires people to first visit their family physician. Then their family physician will refer them to a dermatologist who might even need to refer them to a Plastic, General, Oncological, Mohs or Reconstructive surgeon who might then run tests, such as CT scans or biopsies. Lastly, surgery needs to be scheduled.
All these appointments take time, and skin cancers can grow quickly. Which is why it is important to connect patients with specialists as soon as possible.
“There are two problems we are solving with GetSkinHelp.com,” says Dr. Colin Hong, an Ontario Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon and Chief Medical Officer of Skinopathy. “We are using digital tools to streamline the ‘behind-the-scenes’ bureaucracy and removing the physical and temporal barriers stopping patients from seeing a doctor.”
The reality is that people take too long to see their doctors about issues that have been lingering in their lives for years. And doctors will tell you it is always preferrable to book an appointment at the first sign of concern instead of “waiting-it-out” which can often lead to tragic conclusions.
“Unfortunately, skin cancer is often overlooked as a major threat to a person’s wellbeing,” says Dr. Hong. “Most forms of skin cancer probably won’t kill you, but they can harm a person’s wellbeing due to possible disfigurement, bleeding, and infections.”
The Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation states there are more new cases of skin cancer each year than the number of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancers combined and one in every three cancers diagnosed worldwide is skin cancer.
GetSkinHelp.com is more than just a gateway to Ontario doctors. It also provides vital information about skin cancer, ground-breaking research, and preventative measures. It has also launched The SPF Minute, a series of shareable 30-60 second audiograms that provides sound bites about skin cancer, such as the Canadian origins of the UV Index and how the World Health Organization has classified tanning beds alongside plutonium in its group 1 of cancer-causing agents.
This service is available to any Ontarian with a valid OHIP card with no additional costs.
Contact
Richard Pietro
Partnerships Lead
richard@skinopathy
833-272-7546
About Skinopathy
Skinopathy is a Canadian medtech company that is modernizing how healthcare practitioners, pharmaceuticals, and cosmeceuticals are screening, tracking, and managing all skin conditions.
It was started during the pandemic when Co-Founder, Dr. Colin Hong, noticed patients were coming to his clinic presenting with late-stage skin cancer due to delayed and/or canceled skin cancer screenings.
Not only were people’s well-being at stake, but he knew that these delays would only get worse
and stretch an already taxed healthcare system to its limits.
That is when he decided to collaborate with technologist and entrepreneur, Keith Loo, MBA,
to revolutionize, digitize, and automate the entire dermatological journey. Everything from
screening to research.
About GetSkinHelp
GetSkinHelp is a teledermatology platform that leverages Skinopathy technologies on any mobile device to provide virtual consultations, skin cancer / skin disease screening, advanced triaging and differential diagnosis for a complete circle of connected virtual care.