Lancaster technology accelerator program partners with teledermatology app 

Lancaster-based Smart Health Innovation Lab (iLab) is working with a Chicago-based teledermatology company through its health care technology accelerator program to bring the product to more markets. 

The partnership is the first for iLab since the lab was forced to pause much of its operations in the wake of the pandemic. 

The lab was opened in 2018 through a partnership between Capital Blue Cross, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, Aspire Ventures and Clio Health. 

iLab was created to help accelerate health care technologies that have trouble finding a foothold with providers or find coverage by insurances. 

During the pandemic, iLab paused its partnerships with outside companies, instead working internally to solve COVID-related problems for members of the venture, said Kim Ireland, chief executive officer of iLab. 

iLab announced this week that teledermatology company SkinIO began working with the lab in November to get the company’s app into the hands of more patients and health care providers. 

The SkinIO app allows patients to scan and map their skin, collecting data for dermatologists to remotely review skin images and recommend a follow-up. iLab chose to partner with the company following a decision within the lab to find a company that was looking to increase access to dermatology screenings. 

“We have been doing a lot of planning as we were going through COVID. Once of the things we decided was to be specific on new problems to solve and work with one company at a time to solve a problem,” said Ireland. “One of the problems that came up was dermatology and access issues.” 

Currently, most patients do not have access to dermatology home screening, said Ireland. With SkinIO, patients can still receive a screening onsite, but the level of expertise needed to take a photo through the app compared to executing a screening is much lower. 

The project, along with other telehealth offerings look to provide a solution for the 41% of U.S. adults who have postponed routine screenings or treatments and the 12% who avoided urgent care due to fears of contracting COVID-19, according to estimations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“A drop in cancer screenings across the country, due to the pandemic, is ringing alarm bells for oncologists and dermatologists,” said Kyoko Crawford, chief executive officer of SkinIO. “Joining the Smart Health Innovation Lab provides an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate our value to the healthcare industry and get our potentially lifesaving technology into more hands, which is at the core of our mission.” 

Companies working with the lab have access to the companies that are part of the venture, including Aspire, Capital, Clio and Penn Medicine. For SkinIO, which is looking for preventative health care services to adopt the app, Capital Blue Cross has taken a lead on the project. 

iLab and SkinIO are looking to launch a pilot program for SkinIO in either the second or third quarter of this year. 

“We have had great conversations on workflow and we are now recruiting and pitching to employer groups through our sales team members at Capital Blue Cross,” said Ireland. “SkinIO stood out to us as a visionary leader in the teledermatology space, and we’re excited about the access, prevention and cancer detection capabilities the company will bring to our local community in 2022.”