Healthcare plan provider is making coronavirus antibody testing available to customers
The Public Health England (PHE) approved tests can determine if someone has had Covid-19 and developed antibodies which are still present in their body.
Simplyhealth said it is "heavily subsidising" the costs of the test, which is available to customers for £49. It includes a home visit by a healthcare professional to take a blood sample from a vein.
Working in partnership with Square Health, Simplyhealth said this is the only method of carrying out the test currently approved by PHE and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Simplyhealth customers can choose to test up to four adults (over the age of 18). Additional tests can be purchased for £99 each.
Romana Abdin, chief executive of Simplyhealth Group said: "Many people are thinking hard about the easing of restrictions and at Simplyhealth we are passionate about investing in our customers to give them access to the most valuable health information we can. Offering our customers access to the antibody test aligns with our purpose to make it easy for millions of people to get access to health products, services and support.
"In our research, 93% of customers have told us that they would value being able to have the test which is why we have committed to deliver this service. We know that our customers have varying healthcare needs and believe an antibody test is an important way to allow them to make their own individual decisions, based on a fuller set of information. We hope the knowledge of whether virus has been present will help individuals and families to better understand and assess the choices that lie ahead of them."
Simplyhealth said customers will be contacted directly with more information and tests will be available for the next 12 months, allowing customers to choose as and when they may be tested.
At this stage, tests will only be offered in England and Wales and results will be emailed to customers within five to seven days, plus virtual GP appointments are also available to provide ongoing advice and support if needed.
Simplyhealth added that anonymised results will be made available to PHE to help them understand more about the spread of the virus.
Dr Bippon Vinayak, group chairman and founder of Square Health, added: "Square Health's scale with over 100 software engineers, extensive medical expertise and a strong working relationship with Simplyhealth allowed it to build a rapid and holistic solution for Simplyhealth customers which is both fully compliant with current regulation and uses a test approved by PHE."
Want to learn more about the future of digital healthcare and protection post-Covid-19? Tune into a live keynote conversation with Square Health founder Dr Bippon Vinayak on Wednesday 8 July. Read the full programme and register for free here
