Scan.com reveals urgent healthcare problems being diagnosed by private providers

LONDON, Nov. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the NHS releases figures yesterday, that show a 38% increase this year to last in patients waiting more than 13 weeks for scans, medical imaging platform Scan.com revealed one in ten of their scans is picking up acute issues such as cancer or significant injuries.

Cancers such as those of the brain, pelvis, and lung, as well as complex musculoskeletal injuries such as ruptured knee ligaments, are just some 'urgent' flags on ten percent of private MRI, CTs and Ultrasound scans booked through Scan.com over the past year. An early diagnosis can lead to better survival chances in cancer patients or the opportunity to have early corrective surgery. 

As the number of people waiting more than six and 13 weeks for diagnostics grows, so too does the volume of people seeking to alleviate both pain and anxiety by opting to skip the lengthening queue. Scan.com has seen a 30% increase in all scans this year compared to last, and 35% for scans that can detect cancer early. This aligns with approximately 20% growth reached across all private diagnostic facilities, according to a Laing & Buisson report tabled for release in January 2023.

With the UK having a lower number of CT and MRI scan machines per capita than almost all other countries in Europe and those of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), this is a situation unlikely to see short term improvement. Last month's healthcare report by the influential King's Fund policy institute referenced a "need for realism", with workforce shortages ensuring further investment is needed before any promise to meet targeted diagnostic wait times of 6 weeks that haven't been met since February 2017 can be fulfilled.

Review platform Trustpilot hosts over 970 reviews for Scan.com, many testify to heart-breaking and lifesaving realisations made by patients speeding up their diagnosis by going privately,

One anonymously published on 18th May 2022 said:

"We decided to not listen to our GP (he was suggesting early onset dementia) … we privately paid £289 for a brain scan. My husband is 52, the MRI showed a mass 9x6cm… Naturally our world turned upside down. Surgery has been done at the fabulous Walton Centre and radiotherapy at Clatterbridge, Liverpool, all to try and exceed life expectancy of a year. What would have happened and where would we be if this MRI service was not available to us? Unfortunately, my husband's prognosis is not good. My only wish is that last summer I had pushed to have this MRI scan earlier."

Speaking about the recent finding in their data, Scan.com CMO, Dr Khalid Latief said:

"Increasingly patients want to take charge of their healthcare and that includes diagnostic scans. We at scan.com talk to patients about the reason for the scans to make sure they get the right diagnostics to meet their clinical needs. As a result, one in 10 of our scans yield results that require urgent referral and medical treatment.

"We combine the right clinical care with easy to access and as affordable as possible diagnostic imaging - uniquely at Scan.com our patients speak to a clinician relevant to their condition before and right after their scan. Helping them take the next steps forward in their treatment."

Commenting on today's findings CMO at Check4Cancer, Professor Gordon Wishart, said: "As the waiting list for urgent referrals is increasing, I would expect to see more cancers diagnosed in the private sector as people pay to skip the lengthening queue.

"This means we're seeing delays in cancer diagnosis leading to worse cancer outcomes."

About Scan.com:

Scan.com is the diagnostic imaging platform making medical scans accessible to all. It offers an appointment booking engine for patients, a portal for referring providers, and an API for digital health partners. By reinventing the complex infrastructure underpinning the medical imaging industry, Scan.com is pioneering efficiency and empowerment for patients and clinicians alike.

Notes to editors:

The one in 10 figure is from internal booking data from Scan.com from Oct 2021 to October 2022 – it includes over 9000 scans