Digital health diagnostic company PocDoc today (April 24) announced the launch of its “at-home CVD test” in Superdrug pharmacies “across the country and online”.
Available in over 180 Superdrug pharmacies, the test – referred to as the ‘Healthy Heart Check’ – offers patients “a comprehensive cholesterol profile, body mass index (BMI) score, NHS heart age and a ten-year risk assessment for heart attacks or strokes”, it said.
According to PocDoc, this rollout will allow pharmacies to “play an important role in reducing avoidable high GP appointment numbers”.
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“NHS research suggests that every digital health check could save 20 minutes of a GP’s time,” it said, adding that test results can be “shared directly” on a customer’s NHS app.
This would “dramatically [reduce] the time it would typically take for an individual to arrange, undertake and receive results back from a standard blood test”, it added.
“With CVD costing the NHS £7.4 billion annually, PocDoc and Superdrug are united in their commitment to [ease] this burden and...focus on preventative care and improving access to at-home testing,” the company said.
“Critical preventative” tool
“The ‘Healthy Heart Check’ is expected to be the biggest selling test since the COVID pandemic,” PocDoc claimed, noting that the test will improve “people’s access to critical preventative tools”.
And according to the digital platform, “the test has proven particularly effective in reaching high-risk groups such as those over 40, people who are overweight and individuals who face difficulties accessing GP appointments”.
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Along with Superdrug, the platform also has “ongoing collaborations” with Well Pharmacy, Pharmacy2U and Dears Pharmacy, it said.
And the company has also partnered with “local NHS bodies in Yorkshire and the Humber, the northeast of England and Cumbria” to roll out the test.
“Empowering individuals”
Superdrug pharmacy director Craig Watt said that the retailer was “thrilled to be able to offer the [test] in our pharmacies and online”.
“We’re proud to play a part in improving access to preventative care,” he said, adding that “by making this innovative test easily available to our customers, we’re supporting the government’s shift from treatment to prevention, helping to ease the pressure on the NHS and empowering individuals to take control of their heart health”.
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And PocDoc chief executive and co-founder Steve Roest said that it is “incredibly excited to secure this listing with Superdrug to bring the Healthy Heart Check to even more people across the UK”.
“CVD is one of the country’s biggest health challenges and prevention is key to addressing it,” he said.
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“With our shared commitment to easing the burden on the NHS, we believe this new listing will play a crucial role in improving early detection and ultimately saving millions of lives,” Roest added.
It comes after Tesco partnered with the British Heart Foundation in February to launch a free NHS blood pressure check at its in-store pharmacies to “help detect cases of undiagnosed high blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes”.
