Cambridge-based digital health diagnostics company PocDoc aims to ease this burden by making heart health screening faster and more accessible. The company has entered into a partnership with the UK’s largest pharmacy chain Well Pharmacy.
This partnership comes close on the heels of PocDoc’s £5 million pre-A funding round. This new investment was meant to support the company’s continued rapid growth.
Power of early diagnosis
As per WHO, Cardio, Metabolic and Renal (CMR) diseases are the leading global cause of death, straining healthcare systems. Despite 27 million preventable deaths annually, millions remain untested. Early intervention could prevent up to 90% of cases, yet access to testing and treatment remains a challenge. Identifying high-risk individuals and ensuring timely care could save millions of lives and trillions in economic costs.
Heart checks in under 10 minutes
Founded by Steve Roest, Kiran Roest, and Vladimir Gubala in 2017 in Cambridge, PocDoc is a digital health platform developed with the vision of allowing anyone with a smartphone or tablet to test themselves for a range of major diseases or conditions via a finger prick of blood, receive a full health assessment that puts those results in context and then be offered solutions to address any health-related issues that arise.
This platform combines rapid diagnostic testing with access to healthcare pathways via the PocDoc app. The Healthy Heart Check is said to be the first in a series of easy-to-use home test kits that will provide a revolution in healthcare and prevent millions of premature deaths. In under 10 minutes, it provides fully quantified lipid results, heart age, and 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as access to follow-on treatment.
In June 2024, PocDoc became the first private diagnostics provider to integrate with the NHS app.
Heart health diagnosis made accessible
This partnership will see PocDoc’s at-home cardiovascular disease (CVD) test available online and in all Well Pharmacy branches across the country. The test is an ideal solution for patients seeking quick, accessible CVD diagnostics. PocDoc’s partnership with Well builds on its existing rollout across the UK within the NHS.
Whom does it benefit?
PocDoc’s test has been proven to be particularly successful in reaching ‘at risk’ groups, such as the over 40s, people who are overweight, and those who find it difficult to access GP appointments. Of the thousands of patients that have used the test to date, 97% have said that they would recommend the service to a family member or a friend.
As per a NHS research, every digital health check could save 20 minutes of a GP’s time. By rolling out tests like PocDoc’s, pharmacies can play an important role in reducing avoidable high GP appointment numbers and offering free Blood Pressure checks.
Steve Roest, CEO and co-founder of PocDoc, said: “CVD presents the UK with a massive challenge, impacting lives and costing the country billions of pounds a year in care costs. If we want to truly get to grips with CVD, prevention is absolutely critical. At PocDoc, we have made it our mission to help people detect problems earlier and faster, through the use of our innovative and patented technology with a massive focus on supporting the NHS across the UK.”
Andrew Caplan, Chief Retail Officer, Well Pharmacy said: “We’re always seeking innovative ways to improve the health of the communities we work in, and PocDoc’s Healthy Heart Check is a perfect example. It’s a game-changer, empowering people to take proactive steps to prevent serious conditions like cardiovascular disease. It’s been a pleasure to work with PocDoc’s team to make this rollout a reality. It’s easy to see why the company is growing at such a rate and we look forward to exploring further opportunities with them in the future.”
