Mobile skin cancer screening versus digital workplace screening
If you have been quoted for a mobile skin clinic day, the question is not which model is better in the abstract — it is which one covers your workforce for the money you have. This page compares both honestly, including where digital screening is weaker, and sets out the hybrid model most large employers end up running.
- Typical clinic day cost per person seen
- $60-$120Typical clinic day cost per person seen
- Per scan on a prepaid digital pack
- $4-$5Per scan on a prepaid digital pack
- Rostered time per clinic appointment
- 15-20 minRostered time per clinic appointment
- Per digital check, on the employee's own time
- 2-3 minPer digital check, on the employee's own time
Side-by-side comparison
Swipe the table sideways to see all columns
| Factor | Mobile skin clinic | Digital screening |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per person | $60-$120 | $4-$5 |
| Maximum reach | Appointments available in the day | Entire workforce |
| Shift, remote, FIFO staff | Usually excluded | Included |
| Multi-site | One booking per site | One link for all sites |
| Clinical depth | In-person examination, dermoscopy | AI triage from employee photos |
| Scalp and back coverage | Yes | Limited — hard to self-photograph |
| Employee time cost | 15-20 min, rostered | 2-3 min, own phone |
| Privacy exposure for employer | Attendance lists, sometimes findings | Nothing individual |
| Lead time | Weeks | Same day |
| Repeatability | Re-book and re-pay each round | Same link for 12 months |
A worked cost comparison
Take a 300-person workforce across four sites. A clinic day at $85 per employee, running 35 appointments per day, needs roughly four days to see 140 people — about $11,900 to cover 47% of staff, before rostered time.
A 250-scan digital pack is $999. At a 60% participation rate, 180 people complete a check across all four sites, including night shift and remote crews, for less than a tenth of the cost. The trade is clinical depth: those 180 checks are AI triage, not examinations.
The hybrid that usually wins approval
Buy a digital pack for full coverage, then book a half-day clinic or fund GP visits for the employees the screen flags. Same or lower total spend, roughly double the coverage, clinical time spent where there is something to look at.
When a mobile clinic is the right call
- Single site, one shift, headcount under about 60 people
- A workforce with a known high prevalence of prior lesions or treated skin cancers
- You need documented in-person clinical examination for an insurer or contract requirement
- Budget is generous and coverage of every worker is not the binding constraint
When digital screening is the right call
- Multi-site, multi-shift, seasonal, FIFO or dispersed field workforces
- You want everyone covered rather than the first 35 people to book
- Budget is fixed and needs to spread across the whole headcount
- You want zero employee health data flowing back to the employer
- You want the round live this week, not in six weeks
Where digital screening is genuinely weaker
It is a triage layer. There is no dermoscopy, no palpation and no full-body examination by a clinician. Sites the employee cannot photograph well — scalp, upper back, behind the ears — are effectively out of scope, and those are common melanoma sites in men.
It also produces no clinical record. If your programme exists to satisfy a contractual medical surveillance requirement rather than to find disease early, a clinic day is the correct instrument.
Running the hybrid model
Digital round first
Share the link and QR code for two to three weeks across every site and shift. Track participation only.
Publish the referral pathway with the launch
GP, skin clinic or your health plan's dermatology benefit — decided before anyone scans.
Fund the clinical step
Offer to cover the GP or clinic visit for flagged employees, or book a half-day clinic at the site with the highest flag rate.
Repeat annually with the same link
Your pack stays valid for 12 months, so new starters and inductions are covered without a new purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Related business support
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Costs, pack sizes and credits
How to size a 50, 100 or 250 scan pack, forecast participation, manage your order and use every credit before expiry.
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How Australian employers run WHS-aligned skin checks without booking a mobile clinic day — cost, coverage and industries.
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Screen everyone first, then spend clinical time where it counts
Prepaid scan packs from $4 per scan, one link for every site and shift, and a clear referral prompt for the people who need a clinician.