Corporate News

MyHealthChecked welcomes further scrutiny of private testing companies

MyHealthChecked Plc (AIM: MHC), the consumer home-testing healthcare company, welcomes the announcement yesterday from the Department of Health and Social Care ("DHSC") that private COVID-19 testing companies will be removed from the GOV.UK list if they advertise misleading prices. 82 providers, making up around 18% of companies listed, have been identified as displaying lower prices on GOV.UK than are available on their website at the point of checkout.

MyHealthChecked welcomes a greater degree of Government scrutiny of private testing companies included on the UK Government list of approved providers of COVID-19 testing service for travel. Not only does MyHealthChecked provide clear, transparent and market competitive pricing for compliant testing for international travel tests, but also ensures a high standard of service and robust laboratory capacity planning methods to ensure customer needs are met.

Penny McCormick, Chief Executive Officer of MyHealthChecked Plc, said: 

"This is very good news for the public as it will only improve the calibre of COVID-19 testing services available, and ensure pricing is transparent whilst driving an improvement in quality of service from those approved companies included on the Government list. At MyHealthChecked we have always been clear on pricing. We have made pricing information simple, the nasal swab process is simple and our customer care is second to none, with tens of thousands of satisfied customers as a result of our service.

"Sadly, we hear reports of other testing companies on the Government list also falling short when it comes to maintaining high standards across other aspects of their service and we welcome the Health Secretary's call for the competition watchdog to investigate concerns about inadequate service.

"We agree with the Government that only the most compliant, reliable and efficient testing service providers should be on that list and we take great pride that we can fulfil our obligations for laboratory capacity, achievement of turnaround times at our labs, and clear pricing structures across the portfolio."

MyHealthChecked's services have been included as one of the suppliers on the Government list with "Fit to Fly", "Test to Release" and "Days 2 and 8" testing, and the Company has established a key commercial partnership with Boots UK Limited ("Boots"). The MyHealthChecked COVID-19 testing service is available via www.boots.com and across over 500 Boots stores in Great Britain.

The MyHealthChecked™ COVID-19 at-home nasal swab kit and PCR laboratory testing service utilises the Company's own laboratory in Manchester, together with its partner laboratory provided by Yourgene Health plc. The laboratories used as part of the MyHealthChecked™ COVID-19 testing service all deliver a proficient and high-quality service.

The full DHSC announcement can be seen here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/82-testing-providers-to-be-issued-warnings-over-misleading-prices

For further information contact:

About MyHealthChecked PLC (www.myhealthcheckedplc.com)

MyHealthChecked PLC, based in Cardiff, is an AIM-quoted pioneering UK healthcare company focused on a range of at-home healthcare and wellness tests.

MyHealthChecked is the umbrella brand of a range of at-home DNA and RNA tests, now in development following the acquisition of The Genome Store in November 2020. The tests will be made available online, and would be viable for over the counter purchase.

The MyHealthChecked portfolio has been identified as part of a change in mindset as customers become more familiar with the concept of accessible healthcare in the growing at home testing kit market with a focus on accessibility at the right price, led by UK-based experts.

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