Early identification and treatment of malignant melanoma is crucial to prevent mortality. The aim of this article was to describe the uptake, profile of users and service outcomes of a mole scanning service in the community pharmacy setting in the UK. In addition, health care costs saved from the perspective of general practice were estimated.

This service evaluation has shown that a mole scanning service positioned in community pharmacy is effective at triaging patients with concerning lesions and ultimately playing a part in identifying diagnoses of malignant melanoma. Our results suggest that a mole scanning service in community pharmacy funded by the healthcare system could help to reduce pressure and additional workload on primary care and could promote earlier diagnosis and therefore result in improved prognosis for patients with malignant melanoma. A service of this nature, with good sensitivity and specificity, could also result in reduced unnecessary referrals to secondary care for specialist assessment.

The article where published in December 2020.

Read the publication here: Accessing Mole-Scanning through Community Pharmacy: A Pilot Service in Collaboration with Dermatology Specialists