Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Series - Part 13
This episode is an enlightening journey into the world of mobile dermatology and its transformative influence on skin cancer detection and treatment.
We explore how On-spot Dermatology is reshaping the patient experience and saving lives by making skin exams and dermatology services more accessible than ever. Don Hunt, the president of On-spot Dermatology shares his personal connection to skin cancer emphasizing the importance of regular check-ups no matter where you live. This isn’t just about cutting-edge technology; it’s a heartfelt mission inspired by a personal story.
From designing clinics to handling patient payments and insurance, we peek behind the curtains of On-spot’s operations. We also shed light on how On-spot has been a beacon of support during the pandemic, making healthcare more accessible and keeping their promise of reaching out to those in need. So, whether you’re a healthcare enthusiast, a curious listener, or someone looking for a ray of hope in the fight against skin cancer, this episode is an insightful, empathetic, and empowering conversation you don't want to miss.
If you would like to know more about OnSpot visit OnSpot Dermatology.com
Let's work together to stop skin cancer and save lives!
Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Series
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Episode Transcript
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Lorie Tesny (00:01):
What if a visit to a dermatologist was as easy as
stepping into a mobile clinicthat comes to you?
Early detection and treatmentare key to improving outcomes,
but many individuals facebarriers when it comes to access
to dermatology clinics forscreenings.
On-spot dermatology shows theyare a driving force to a
hassle-free solution throughthis innovative service.
(00:23):
Hello and welcome to SailingThrough Life.
I'm Lori, your host and friend.
Join me as I shareconversations that give you hope
through the storms of life.
You'll find inspiration throughthe experiences of my guests,
as well as hearing my own crazy,wonderful adventure.
(00:44):
Create the life you desire bydiscovering new ways to focus on
your health and well-beingthrough modifying your habits
and improving your mindset.
Let's sail with me on thisjourney to realize the strength
and resilience you have inside.
Let us show you how, as yousail through life.
Welcome aboard.
(01:06):
Want to stay proactive withyour skin health.
Skin cancer is a serious andpotentially life-threatening
condition that affects millionsof people worldwide.
However, mobile dermatologyclinics are now revolutionizing
(01:27):
the way skin cancer is diagnosedand treated, ultimately saving
lives.
Today we're chatting with DonHunt, president of On-spot
Dermatology.
They've taken the fight againstskin cancer on the road with
their mission to make skin examsand dermatology services more
accessible.
Don and his team are committedto changing the way patients
(01:49):
interact with theirdermatologists and are creating
a patient experience like noother.
By bringing the practice to youOn-spot is truly changing the
game when it comes to skincancer prevention and treatment,
offering a glimmer of hope inthe fight against this deadly
disease.
Thank you, don, for being hereand being a part of this special
(02:11):
series.
Don Hunt (02:12):
I appreciate you having me on Lorie.
Lorie Tesny (02:14):
I love that you're providing a service that saves
people's lives.
We both have a mission toeducate and promote wellness.
This awareness series shows theimportance of skin checks,
understanding sun exposure, thedamage it causes, and being
proactive with sun protection.
Now down in Florida, mostpeople would suspect that there
is a very high incidence of skincancer, so I would say that we
(02:38):
are very fortunate to have acompany like yours, keeping
people safe and understandingthe needs of the population.
So let's get into what on-spotdermatology is and how this all
started.
Don Hunt (02:51):
It's a nice compliment when people recognize the work
that we're doing.
We obviously believe in on-spotsmission, which is our mission
statement as a company is tocreate a patient experience like
no other, and we're unique andnon-traditional in that we're
bringing a practice directly tothe patient in a high-end,
(03:12):
state-of-the-art mobile clinic,which creates for a pretty
unique experience And throughthat we're able to help a lot of
individuals in underservedareas or in locations where a
lot of people just don't takethe time to see a dermatologist.
One of the things that we havefound is a lot of people know
(03:34):
the importance of getting a skincheck and know that skin cancer
is the most common form ofcancer.
Everyone I talk to seems tohave a skin cancer story,
whether they have a friend or arelative or a loved one who came
in contact with skin cancer ormelanoma.
(03:56):
And what we're trying to do ismake it very easy for people to
get a 15-minute full-body skinexam, and we focus on
communities and companies aroundFlorida that have us come on
site in a three-exam room mobileclinic where we operate
(04:18):
everything, all of our services,out of that clinic to make it
easy for people to get skincancer checkups.
We have seven mobile clinicsacross Florida.
We have 600-plus community andcorporate partners.
Some of our corporate partnersinclude Universal Studios,
osceola County, hillsboroughCounty, the Breakersername set
(04:41):
list, links and programs.
We go to Tropicana, seminoleGaming, so the Hard Rock Casino,
and we help a lot of peoplewhere normally taking a half a
day off from work can bedifficult or taking time away
from family is difficult, to geta spot checked out that doesn't
give you any pain.
(05:02):
It's not really a problem atthat point in your life and it's
easy to push off.
And what our value is is hey,we're right on site.
we can make it super easy foran individual to get a 15-minute
full-body skin exam.
Lorie Tesny (05:17):
And that's really important, because denying
something is wrong or avoidingaddressing an issue can really
lead you into having a seriousissue with skin cancer or
melanoma, And there's just somuch out there, especially right
now with the skin cancerawareness wave that we're in and
(05:40):
bringing this attention towhat's going on, And I would
imagine that you know, becausewe're on the same mission to
educate and promote wellness,that it's so important for you
to get your message out aboutwhat you guys are doing, And I
would say most people in Floridawould suspect that there would
(06:03):
be a really high incidence ofskin cancer here, And so I think
we're really fortunate to havea company like yours here to
help with keeping people safeand understanding the needs of
the population with the way youare, with being aware of
parameters that may have withbusinesses, with people employed
(06:26):
that can't leave for longperiods of time for appointments
, for people who are elderly,and that's, you know, quite a
portion of the population hereas well is making that
accessible, And I think that'sreally great that you've
established this.
And I'm curious what brought allthis on?
Where did this all begin foryou?
Don Hunt (06:48):
Yeah, so it really began, as we always say, and
with our practice on spot, wouldhave never started if it wasn't
for the pandemic.
During the pandemic, ourmedical director really saw a
big problem in that people wereskipping out on their annual
skin cancer exam because of theydidn't want to expose
(07:09):
themselves to a doctor's office,a hospital, a waiting room, an
exam room, which you know, we,everyone understood right, and
no one knew.
At the early stages of thepandemic, no one knew what was
going on and just wanted to takethe precautions not to expose
themselves to areas where peoplemight be sick.
And so Dr Harrington, ourmedical director, really saw
(07:34):
this problem and told me aboutthis issue where we started
coming up with the idea ofbringing a practice directly to
the patient in a COVID safeenvironment.
And there's a lot of differentthings that we can do with our
mobile clinics and what we havedone to make it a COVID safe
environment.
One of the things is putting UVlights in the HVAC system And
(07:55):
when you're circling the air orhave the AC unit going on,
you're able to kill airborneviruses and bacteria with UV
lights, and so, with being in asmaller unit, we're able to
filter the air faster as opposedto a hospital.
When you have a 90,000 squarefoot hospital, they take those
precautions as well, but it justit takes longer to filter out
(08:21):
the air.
And so we that's really wherethe initial business plan of on
spot started, and we startedseeing that it wasn't just COVID
, but a lot of people wereskipping out or just not didn't
have a relationship with adermatology practice.
So, on spot really started wherewe wanted to go to businesses
and go to communities to make itsuper easy for people to take
(08:44):
those 15 minute exams and reallyhave no excuse to say I had a
difficulty booking anappointment or getting access to
care.
You know, one of the thingsabout skin cancer is we always
say there is a cure to skincancer.
It's very treatable and can bevery scary when it's detected,
but when detected early,according to the skin cancer
(09:07):
foundation and this is in quotesit's 99% treatable when
detected early.
So, if we're able to provideearly detection for patients,
we're able to help a lot ofpeople, and that's what we've
done, where we have actually, inthe last 27 months, found we're
just about to hit 5000 skincancers that we have found on
(09:29):
our clinics as well as we.
just this week we hit our 300thmelanoma found.
So I mean you could argue andlook, there's a lot of
dermatology practices out therethat are doing amazing work and
saving lives, and we like tothink that we're saving lives as
(09:49):
well.
And what makes it morerewarding is that we're saving
lives on individuals that mostof the time would have never
gotten checked if we weren'tright there in their community
or place of work.
Lorie Tesny (10:00):
Right.
Well, and I know there's anissue because I've just repeated
conversations with other peopleabout getting in to see a
dermatologist.
I know for me, when I went andgot my first biopsy done and it
took months to get in there AndI was concerned it was something
that was serious and it's still.
(10:22):
There was no jumping in line ordoing anything like that And
I'm grateful that I got in whenI did because obviously it
turned out to be somethingpretty serious with a stage
three melanoma.
But it's interesting that whatyou're able to provide is
filling in also for those timeframes that people cannot be
(10:43):
accommodated for.
There's a sense of urgency whenyou acknowledge that there's
something not right.
The last thing you want to dois wait for months to talk to
somebody about it.
Don Hunt (10:54):
Yeah, it's a real problem.
Wait times associated withdermatology is a real issue and
something that we'd like to helpwith, but it makes it difficult
where people don't know whatthey're doing three months from
now.
I mean, there's areas wherethere is a three month wait to
see a dermatologist, sometimeseven longer, and even up in
(11:17):
Orlando, where we go to somecommunities around the villages
the villages is the largestcommunity in the state of
Florida And there's probablyover 12, i don't know how many
offices, but there's probably 12different dermatology practices
representing around thevillages, and we get patients
(11:40):
coming to Leesburg, which is 30minutes outside of the villages,
saying, hey, can, can I be seen?
because it's just the waittimes are too long.
Lorie Tesny (11:48):
So even in Florida, where there's seems to be a
dermatologist every square blocksometimes, but there's just not
enough practices to serve thepeople that need to be seen,
unfortunately, Well, and I thinkit's interesting too that you
know there's a lot of stigmaaround going to the
dermatologist where you feellike you know there's such a
(12:11):
mindset of looking better andall the cosmetic side of it, and
that's kind of a thing too whenyou walk into an office and see
all that stuff that you couldbe getting done, and you're
there for something totallydifferent.
But I like the fact that youguys are able to accommodate not
only doing the skin checksbecause, again, this is all so
(12:36):
important because of the numbersthat we see and the amount of
money that is spent on treatingskin cancer.
It is so much better to bepreventative But to have that
opportunity to see that throughbut also offer other things with
your clinic as well.
Don Hunt (12:57):
Absolutely.
You know, that's what.
When we were designing ourclinics, we wanted to make sure
that when we're calling onpatients and telling them, hey,
you have cancer or we found anadvanced melanoma, we're able to
treat that patient as well.
We didn't want the phone callto sound like, hey, you have
cancer, now you take care of it.
(13:18):
We wanted to make sure we'reable to treat the patients as
well.
That's where Dr Harrington hasreally done an amazing job just
designing our clinics andbuilding a team that not only
detects skin cancer and melanomabut treats our patients as well
.
And hey, there are somepatients that we're not able to
treat.
We have great relationshipswith Moffitt and some other
(13:43):
hospitals around the state ofFlorida that we can send
patients to that get, even justto be in the right hands if it
is an advanced stage cancer ormelanoma.
Lorie Tesny (13:56):
Well, i am a little partial to Moffitt myself, but
anyway.
so as far as the staff that youhave, can you talk a little bit
more about how you have thisset up?
If you have seven differenttrucks around, how is every,
each one of these staffed totake care of patients?
Don Hunt (14:18):
Yeah, so each clinic has a designated territory that
it services, so the same staff,the same team will be with that
clinic And that clinic reallytravels in about an hour long
radius from where it's parked.
We go outside that radius alittle bit, but we wanted to
(14:42):
make sure that when we weredesigning this operation, that
we didn't have this giantterritory that we were focused
on.
We're laser focused on this oneterritory, one city and
servicing that community, sothat one.
We have staff that isn't goingto be traveling from, let's say,
fort Myers to Orlando from oneweek to the next.
(15:05):
It's hey, we're focused on FortMyers, this team is focused on
Fort Myers, and I think thatallows us to give great care to
our patients as well, where theycan follow up with us and say,
oh man, i'd love to see you nextweek.
Oh, sorry, we're going to be upin Jacksonville or we're going
to be in, let's say, northCarolina for the next two months
(15:27):
.
We wanted to be focused on thatdesignated.
Each mobile clinic is focusedon that territory that it
services and it helps our staffnot have as much of a drive when
they're driving each location.
Lorie Tesny (15:42):
Yeah, that is important because you do want to
have a trusted team and onceyou get somebody you trust, you
don't necessarily want to startall over every time.
So, you know, creating thatrelationship with somebody and
having somebody you trust isvery important.
And in future you knowsituations as well.
You're establishing thatconnection, so that I love the
(16:05):
fact that you're able to do that.
And what do you see in the nearfuture for the territory you're
covering?
Because I did pull up on themap to see what part of the
state you do have thesedifferent territories and do you
see that that is going to growhere?
Don Hunt (16:23):
Yes, absolutely So.
We have four differentterritories that we service, so
we call it Fort Myers, sarasota,orlando and Palm Beach.
That Fort Myers territory goesfrom Fort Myers to Naples.
Well, our Sarasota territory isreally Tampa to Venice.
And Palm Beach actually goesfrom Port St Lucie down to Fort
(16:47):
Lauderdale.
Lorie Tesny (16:48):
Okay.
Don Hunt (16:48):
It's very service and we have another clinic coming in
August that we are bringing toPinellas and Pasco County.
We've been getting a lot ofinterest from that territory
there.
Just with our presence inSarasota, we get a lot of people
seeing our clinics and saying,hey, would you be willing to
(17:10):
come to this territory?
And we're going to be openingup that territory in August And
then in 2024, we actually havefour more clinics on order that
will be coming to us and we'llbe putting them in other parts
of Florida We haven't decidedwhere, but still kind of
building up a wait list ofaccounts that reach out to us
(17:31):
every day saying, hey, i'd loveto work with you, and what we
explain is, hey, we're not inyour area yet, but we'll let you
know and hopefully you know bein your area by 2024.
So excited about our expansions.
Lorie Tesny (17:47):
And the start of this business.
I'm going to just go back tothat real quick.
Was there anybody in yourfamily that you saw personally
dealing with the skin cancerthat kind of led you to this
type of business?
Don Hunt (18:04):
Yes, it's.
you know, what really struck mewith seeing this as a problem
and seeing there as a businesshere was I have a very close
friend.
He lived right across thestreet from me and he had his
father who in a lot of ways is afather figure to me was
(18:25):
diagnosed with melanoma when hewas 40, 45 years old And it was
a very advanced stage ofmelanoma and it's something that
he still lives with today.
This was 20 years ago And healways explains his story where
he actually knew the spot.
(18:46):
It was right behind his leg,his knee, and he knew about that
spot for years and just nevergot it checked out.
Because he has you know, he'sbusy with his personal life, he
has kids and has a job, and justit's difficult to take the time
to get checked And he wasalways worried about it finally
(19:09):
got checked and was rushed to ahospital the following day for
surgery And it's something hestill lives with and you know
gets checked every six months iswhere he's at right now, but
that story and just what he wentthrough, just I saw us being a
(19:32):
help a lot of people like myfriend's father, who just it's
it's can be difficult to takethe time to get checked, and I
know that he would have gottenchecked years earlier if, on
spot came to his place of work.
Lorie Tesny (19:44):
Sure, well, and it is encouraging that you said
that was 20 years ago and he'sstill.
Unfortunately, it's still partof what he's dealing with, but
he's still here dealing with it,and so that says a lot for the
care he received when this wasactually discovered and
diagnosed, that they were ableto keep him healthy enough to
(20:07):
get through all that, because itdoes take a toll on your body
getting the surgeries and thetreatments and everything else.
It as much as it's saving yourlife, there's also a backside to
all that, and that's, you know,that's where bringing light to
all this before you get to thatpoint is so extremely important.
Don Hunt (20:29):
Absolutely.
I mean, you know, laurie, justgoing through it with yourself
and you know that's, that'samazing.
Just, you were in great handswith Moffitt Moffitt's an
impressive hospital and you knowwhat they do and how quickly.
I'm always impressed at howquickly they get our patients to
be seen where we give them areferral, and I don't know what
(20:51):
your experience was, but we'vehad patients literally go in to
a surgical procedure the nextday.
Lorie Tesny (20:58):
Wow, yeah, mine was moving to Florida and trying to
reestablish my team locally, soI had a point of reference and
saw a symposium through AIM atMelanoma And one of their
doctors was speaking and I'mlike he said something that I
wanted to talk to him aboutbecause I was like, really
(21:19):
That's what you would do, and sothat's how that relationship
started and luckily it wasstarted at a time where I didn't
need anything And so we couldkind of establish a baseline
with history and things likethat, so that when something did
happen I felt very, verycomfortable.
I know how hard it is when youget thrust into this new world
(21:43):
of oncology and surgery.
It's overwhelming, and so tohave that comfort, to know that
I was in good hands, really didmake a big difference.
Don Hunt (21:54):
Yes, absolutely.
Lorie Tesny (21:56):
So talk a little bit about your involvement with
the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Don Hunt (22:03):
Yeah.
So we had a relationship withthe Skin Cancer Foundation where
they've been a great resourceand they really do have an
amazing website, you know.
I mean, 10,000 people arediagnosed every day with skin
cancer And just I think they'rean amazing resource for our
patients and for people thatwant to know the facts and
(22:25):
figures and articles about skincancer, and so we've used them
to as a resource to shareeducational material.
Yes, we have thousands ofemails from our patients,
because when one of the thingswe do when a patient checks in
is they give us their emailaddress, so we create them a
(22:47):
patient portal where they canlog in and see their results.
And so what we started doing isactually sending monthly emails
to our patients and we weresaying, okay, let's create some
educational material that we cansend.
And just, the Skin CancerFoundation has so many great
resources.
They were like, okay, whyreinvent the wheel?
(23:09):
Why not use what they have tosupport that type of educational
material be sent?
So that's how we work with theSkin Cancer Foundation And I
think that they are a fantasticorganization that helps people
every day just learn whatthey've been diagnosed with or
(23:31):
what they're going through.
Lorie Tesny (23:33):
What is the plan dealing with potential weather
issues?
being in Florida, i love thefact that you guys are mobile
because, like boat people, youcan try to get out of the way.
It's really important, and thenyou're always established
wherever you go.
So have you thought about whatis involved with if something
(23:55):
does come up?
Don Hunt (23:58):
Yeah, so during the day there's sometimes inclement
weather.
that affects just how patientsare seen, And normally we're
lucky we're in Florida.
for the most part It's notreally an issue until you hit.
September or October when wedealt with it this year, where
we had two clinics over in FortMyers And there were a lot of
(24:21):
patients that we couldn't seebecause of what happened And the
devastation was just amazing.
We had a lot of staff membersget involved and on spot got
involved to help with anyvolunteering efforts And it was
amazing to see our team cometogether during that.
But really, to answer yourquestion, though, it doesn't
(24:46):
affect us as much as we thoughtAnd our staff is trained when
there's lightning Lightning isprobably the biggest thing that
we get nervous about.
And just making sure that thesafety of our staff, patients
and mobile clinics is at thehighest priority, and we have
(25:07):
plans in place for inclementweather.
Lorie Tesny (25:09):
So, as far as the services you're providing, how
do you charge the patients anddo you do insurance?
Don Hunt (25:17):
Yeah, we're really like any typical dermatology
practice where we have 95% ofour patients have insurances
that we accept, so we acceptthose insurances, and we do have
a self-pay option where it's$100 for an office visit if you
do not have health insurance.
(25:38):
We come across that withCanadians.
A lot of communities that wevisit where there's Canadians
and they don't have US healthinsurance, we have that self-pay
option, so we're trying to geta network with every health
insurance payee out there.
The reason for that is whattype of practice would we be if
(26:00):
we're trying to improve accessof care And we show up to a
community and a patient walks upand says, hey, i have this
insurance, and we say sorry, wecan't see you, it just doesn't
really fit with our model.
So our plan is to get a networkwith every insurance and the
only one we're not in networkwith which has been a little bit
of a process, isUnitedHealthcare.
(26:20):
There are some UnitedHealthcareinsurance out of network
benefits that some plans have,but UnitedHealthcare is a
difficult one to get a contractwith, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, we turn away andthousands of you in
UnitedHealthcare patients a yearbecause we're not a network.
We do push them to our self-payoptions, but unfortunately which
(26:44):
I get a lot of people wouldrather go to a place where their
insurance is covered.
Lorie Tesny (26:49):
Sure, sure, well, and stepping into the world of
insurance.
if you talk to anybody who'sgone through a diagnosis, i'll
tell you how much fun that is,navigating through a whole new
learning curve And so, yeah,getting involved with insurance.
I give you a lot of kudos forpursuing that, because that's
(27:10):
not a fun place to be, is tryingto coordinate all that and, you
know, especially processingclaims and things like that.
That's a lot.
Don Hunt (27:19):
It is.
Yeah, it's quite the operation,but it's definitely worth it.
Where you know a lot of, we seea lot more patients being in
network and you know helping.
I mean, i get you pay a lot ofmoney for health insurance and
want to see the practices thatare covered, so sure, but yeah,
(27:40):
that's just that.
That's how we operate with thetrances.
Lorie Tesny (27:44):
So I want to just you know thank you, because I
know you took time out of a busyday to talk to me and share
about what you're doing and whyit's so important for you to do
what you're doing.
And I am very humbled by thefact that you guys have put so
much out there with thisbusiness and there's so much of
(28:05):
your family involved in thisbusiness, so I know that can get
interesting too, but I justlove the fact that you're so
determined to do make thesechanges and to make this
available to people, becausethere really is a deficit in a
lot of these areas.
Don Hunt (28:22):
Well, thank you, laurie.
Yeah, I applaud you for, youknow, bringing awareness out to
the individuals to see, gettinghow important it is to get
tracked.
I mean, we have, we've had someamazing stories that I can
share and then you know,unfortunately, some difficult
stories as well.
And it's just, it's skin canceris totally curable as long as
(28:47):
it's it's detected early.
And you know, we alwaysencourage everyone to get
tracked, whether you're withOnspot or another practice So
important and it can save yourlife.
For a 15 minute exam, my father, we actually found two melanoma
spots in site, two on his chest, and luckily we found it early
(29:07):
and he is on spot found that andhe isn't a much better
situation today.
Lorie Tesny (29:13):
So that's, that's excellent.
Yeah, that's, that's huge.
And it's interesting becauseit's misleading.
I think people's assumption isif you go to Florida, that's
where it's going to be And it'severywhere.
It doesn't matter where youlive.
I mean, the exposure is theexposure and it's a cumulative
(29:34):
effect, so you matter if you'rein Florida or not.
it is something that absolutelyneeds to be kept up on.
Don Hunt (29:42):
Mm, hmm, couldn't agree more.
So what you're doing is great,lori, and I really appreciate
you having me here and talk toOnspot story and just sharing
the importance of gettingchecked.
Lorie Tesny (29:55):
Thank you, don.
Thank you again for your timeAnd I appreciate all you guys do
And I look forward to possiblymeeting you someday.
That sounds great, lori.
I love that as well.
Thank you.
Onspot Dermatology isrevolutionizing the detection of
skin cancer through theirinnovative mobile clinics.
The mission to make skin examsaccessible to everyone is being
(30:15):
achieved by taking their fightagainst skin cancer on the road
In just minutes.
Onspot is able to provide fullbody skin exams by bringing the
dermatology practice directly tothe patients.
This groundbreaking approach,born out of the pandemic, has
already made a significantimpact with the establishment of
seven high tech mobile clinicsin Florida.
By creating a unique patientexperience, they are changing
(30:41):
the way people interact withtheir dermatologists and making
a difference in countless livesby transforming dermatology and
the availability to care.
If you would like to know moreabout Onspot Dermatology, visit
their website atonspotdermatologycom.
I'll make sure the link is inthe episode description for you.
It's time to feel empowered.
(31:05):
It's time to make every choicecount.
If you or someone you careabout would like to share their
experience, or if you know anorganization to help even out
the pandemic, message me throughmy website.
Supporting this show allows usto continue to make a difference
in someone's life.
You can share this episode withfriends and family and
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Just go to sailing through lifepodcastcom to help out.
(31:33):
Stay Anchored.
Chat with you next time.
What if a visit to a dermatologist was as easy as
stepping into a mobile clinicthat comes to you?
Early detection and treatmentare key to improving outcomes,
but many individuals facebarriers when it comes to access
to dermatology clinics forscreenings.
On-spot dermatology shows theyare a driving force to a
hassle-free solution throughthis innovative service.
(00:23):
Hello and welcome to SailingThrough Life.
I'm Lori, your host and friend.
Join me as I shareconversations that give you hope
through the storms of life.
You'll find inspiration throughthe experiences of my guests,
as well as hearing my own crazy,wonderful adventure.
(00:44):
Create the life you desire bydiscovering new ways to focus on
your health and well-beingthrough modifying your habits
and improving your mindset.
Let's sail with me on thisjourney to realize the strength
and resilience you have inside.
Let us show you how, as yousail through life.
Welcome aboard.
(01:06):
Want to stay proactive withyour skin health.
Skin cancer is a serious andpotentially life-threatening
condition that affects millionsof people worldwide.
However, mobile dermatologyclinics are now revolutionizing
(01:27):
the way skin cancer is diagnosedand treated, ultimately saving
lives.
Today we're chatting with DonHunt, president of On-spot
Dermatology.
They've taken the fight againstskin cancer on the road with
their mission to make skin examsand dermatology services more
accessible.
Don and his team are committedto changing the way patients
(01:49):
interact with theirdermatologists and are creating
a patient experience like noother.
By bringing the practice to youOn-spot is truly changing the
game when it comes to skincancer prevention and treatment,
offering a glimmer of hope inthe fight against this deadly
disease.
Thank you, don, for being hereand being a part of this special
(02:11):
series.
Don Hunt (02:12):
I appreciate you having me on Lorie.
Lorie Tesny (02:14):
I love that you're providing a service that saves
people's lives.
We both have a mission toeducate and promote wellness.
This awareness series shows theimportance of skin checks,
understanding sun exposure, thedamage it causes, and being
proactive with sun protection.
Now down in Florida, mostpeople would suspect that there
is a very high incidence of skincancer, so I would say that we
(02:38):
are very fortunate to have acompany like yours, keeping
people safe and understandingthe needs of the population.
So let's get into what on-spotdermatology is and how this all
started.
Don Hunt (02:51):
It's a nice compliment when people recognize the work
that we're doing.
We obviously believe in on-spotsmission, which is our mission
statement as a company is tocreate a patient experience like
no other, and we're unique andnon-traditional in that we're
bringing a practice directly tothe patient in a high-end,
(03:12):
state-of-the-art mobile clinic,which creates for a pretty
unique experience And throughthat we're able to help a lot of
individuals in underservedareas or in locations where a
lot of people just don't takethe time to see a dermatologist.
One of the things that we havefound is a lot of people know
(03:34):
the importance of getting a skincheck and know that skin cancer
is the most common form ofcancer.
Everyone I talk to seems tohave a skin cancer story,
whether they have a friend or arelative or a loved one who came
in contact with skin cancer ormelanoma.
(03:56):
And what we're trying to do ismake it very easy for people to
get a 15-minute full-body skinexam, and we focus on
communities and companies aroundFlorida that have us come on
site in a three-exam room mobileclinic where we operate
(04:18):
everything, all of our services,out of that clinic to make it
easy for people to get skincancer checkups.
We have seven mobile clinicsacross Florida.
We have 600-plus community andcorporate partners.
Some of our corporate partnersinclude Universal Studios,
osceola County, hillsboroughCounty, the Breakersername set
(04:41):
list, links and programs.
We go to Tropicana, seminoleGaming, so the Hard Rock Casino,
and we help a lot of peoplewhere normally taking a half a
day off from work can bedifficult or taking time away
from family is difficult, to geta spot checked out that doesn't
give you any pain.
(05:02):
It's not really a problem atthat point in your life and it's
easy to push off.
And what our value is is hey,we're right on site.
we can make it super easy foran individual to get a 15-minute
full-body skin exam.
Lorie Tesny (05:17):
And that's really important, because denying
something is wrong or avoidingaddressing an issue can really
lead you into having a seriousissue with skin cancer or
melanoma, And there's just somuch out there, especially right
now with the skin cancerawareness wave that we're in and
(05:40):
bringing this attention towhat's going on, And I would
imagine that you know, becausewe're on the same mission to
educate and promote wellness,that it's so important for you
to get your message out aboutwhat you guys are doing, And I
would say most people in Floridawould suspect that there would
(06:03):
be a really high incidence ofskin cancer here, And so I think
we're really fortunate to havea company like yours here to
help with keeping people safeand understanding the needs of
the population with the way youare, with being aware of
parameters that may have withbusinesses, with people employed
(06:26):
that can't leave for longperiods of time for appointments
, for people who are elderly,and that's, you know, quite a
portion of the population hereas well is making that
accessible, And I think that'sreally great that you've
established this.
And I'm curious what brought allthis on?
Where did this all begin foryou?
Don Hunt (06:48):
Yeah, so it really began, as we always say, and
with our practice on spot, wouldhave never started if it wasn't
for the pandemic.
During the pandemic, ourmedical director really saw a
big problem in that people wereskipping out on their annual
skin cancer exam because of theydidn't want to expose
(07:09):
themselves to a doctor's office,a hospital, a waiting room, an
exam room, which you know, we,everyone understood right, and
no one knew.
At the early stages of thepandemic, no one knew what was
going on and just wanted to takethe precautions not to expose
themselves to areas where peoplemight be sick.
And so Dr Harrington, ourmedical director, really saw
(07:34):
this problem and told me aboutthis issue where we started
coming up with the idea ofbringing a practice directly to
the patient in a COVID safeenvironment.
And there's a lot of differentthings that we can do with our
mobile clinics and what we havedone to make it a COVID safe
environment.
One of the things is putting UVlights in the HVAC system And
(07:55):
when you're circling the air orhave the AC unit going on,
you're able to kill airborneviruses and bacteria with UV
lights, and so, with being in asmaller unit, we're able to
filter the air faster as opposedto a hospital.
When you have a 90,000 squarefoot hospital, they take those
precautions as well, but it justit takes longer to filter out
(08:21):
the air.
And so we that's really wherethe initial business plan of on
spot started, and we startedseeing that it wasn't just COVID
, but a lot of people wereskipping out or just not didn't
have a relationship with adermatology practice.
So, on spot really started wherewe wanted to go to businesses
and go to communities to make itsuper easy for people to take
(08:44):
those 15 minute exams and reallyhave no excuse to say I had a
difficulty booking anappointment or getting access to
care.
You know, one of the thingsabout skin cancer is we always
say there is a cure to skincancer.
It's very treatable and can bevery scary when it's detected,
but when detected early,according to the skin cancer
(09:07):
foundation and this is in quotesit's 99% treatable when
detected early.
So, if we're able to provideearly detection for patients,
we're able to help a lot ofpeople, and that's what we've
done, where we have actually, inthe last 27 months, found we're
just about to hit 5000 skincancers that we have found on
(09:29):
our clinics as well as we.
just this week we hit our 300thmelanoma found.
So I mean you could argue andlook, there's a lot of
dermatology practices out therethat are doing amazing work and
saving lives, and we like tothink that we're saving lives as
(09:49):
well.
And what makes it morerewarding is that we're saving
lives on individuals that mostof the time would have never
gotten checked if we weren'tright there in their community
or place of work.
Lorie Tesny (10:00):
Right.
Well, and I know there's anissue because I've just repeated
conversations with other peopleabout getting in to see a
dermatologist.
I know for me, when I went andgot my first biopsy done and it
took months to get in there AndI was concerned it was something
that was serious and it's still.
(10:22):
There was no jumping in line ordoing anything like that And
I'm grateful that I got in whenI did because obviously it
turned out to be somethingpretty serious with a stage
three melanoma.
But it's interesting that whatyou're able to provide is
filling in also for those timeframes that people cannot be
(10:43):
accommodated for.
There's a sense of urgency whenyou acknowledge that there's
something not right.
The last thing you want to dois wait for months to talk to
somebody about it.
Don Hunt (10:54):
Yeah, it's a real problem.
Wait times associated withdermatology is a real issue and
something that we'd like to helpwith, but it makes it difficult
where people don't know whatthey're doing three months from
now.
I mean, there's areas wherethere is a three month wait to
see a dermatologist, sometimeseven longer, and even up in
(11:17):
Orlando, where we go to somecommunities around the villages
the villages is the largestcommunity in the state of
Florida And there's probablyover 12, i don't know how many
offices, but there's probably 12different dermatology practices
representing around thevillages, and we get patients
(11:40):
coming to Leesburg, which is 30minutes outside of the villages,
saying, hey, can, can I be seen?
because it's just the waittimes are too long.
Lorie Tesny (11:48):
So even in Florida, where there's seems to be a
dermatologist every square blocksometimes, but there's just not
enough practices to serve thepeople that need to be seen,
unfortunately, Well, and I thinkit's interesting too that you
know there's a lot of stigmaaround going to the
dermatologist where you feellike you know there's such a
(12:11):
mindset of looking better andall the cosmetic side of it, and
that's kind of a thing too whenyou walk into an office and see
all that stuff that you couldbe getting done, and you're
there for something totallydifferent.
But I like the fact that youguys are able to accommodate not
only doing the skin checksbecause, again, this is all so
(12:36):
important because of the numbersthat we see and the amount of
money that is spent on treatingskin cancer.
It is so much better to bepreventative But to have that
opportunity to see that throughbut also offer other things with
your clinic as well.
Don Hunt (12:57):
Absolutely.
You know, that's what.
When we were designing ourclinics, we wanted to make sure
that when we're calling onpatients and telling them, hey,
you have cancer or we found anadvanced melanoma, we're able to
treat that patient as well.
We didn't want the phone callto sound like, hey, you have
cancer, now you take care of it.
(13:18):
We wanted to make sure we'reable to treat the patients as
well.
That's where Dr Harrington hasreally done an amazing job just
designing our clinics andbuilding a team that not only
detects skin cancer and melanomabut treats our patients as well
.
And hey, there are somepatients that we're not able to
treat.
We have great relationshipswith Moffitt and some other
(13:43):
hospitals around the state ofFlorida that we can send
patients to that get, even justto be in the right hands if it
is an advanced stage cancer ormelanoma.
Lorie Tesny (13:56):
Well, i am a little partial to Moffitt myself, but
anyway.
so as far as the staff that youhave, can you talk a little bit
more about how you have thisset up?
If you have seven differenttrucks around, how is every,
each one of these staffed totake care of patients?
Don Hunt (14:18):
Yeah, so each clinic has a designated territory that
it services, so the same staff,the same team will be with that
clinic And that clinic reallytravels in about an hour long
radius from where it's parked.
We go outside that radius alittle bit, but we wanted to
(14:42):
make sure that when we weredesigning this operation, that
we didn't have this giantterritory that we were focused
on.
We're laser focused on this oneterritory, one city and
servicing that community, sothat one.
We have staff that isn't goingto be traveling from, let's say,
fort Myers to Orlando from oneweek to the next.
(15:05):
It's hey, we're focused on FortMyers, this team is focused on
Fort Myers, and I think thatallows us to give great care to
our patients as well, where theycan follow up with us and say,
oh man, i'd love to see you nextweek.
Oh, sorry, we're going to be upin Jacksonville or we're going
to be in, let's say, northCarolina for the next two months
(15:27):
.
We wanted to be focused on thatdesignated.
Each mobile clinic is focusedon that territory that it
services and it helps our staffnot have as much of a drive when
they're driving each location.
Lorie Tesny (15:42):
Yeah, that is important because you do want to
have a trusted team and onceyou get somebody you trust, you
don't necessarily want to startall over every time.
So, you know, creating thatrelationship with somebody and
having somebody you trust isvery important.
And in future you knowsituations as well.
You're establishing thatconnection, so that I love the
(16:05):
fact that you're able to do that.
And what do you see in the nearfuture for the territory you're
covering?
Because I did pull up on themap to see what part of the
state you do have thesedifferent territories and do you
see that that is going to growhere?
Don Hunt (16:23):
Yes, absolutely So.
We have four differentterritories that we service, so
we call it Fort Myers, sarasota,orlando and Palm Beach.
That Fort Myers territory goesfrom Fort Myers to Naples.
Well, our Sarasota territory isreally Tampa to Venice.
And Palm Beach actually goesfrom Port St Lucie down to Fort
(16:47):
Lauderdale.
Lorie Tesny (16:48):
Okay.
Don Hunt (16:48):
It's very service and we have another clinic coming in
August that we are bringing toPinellas and Pasco County.
We've been getting a lot ofinterest from that territory
there.
Just with our presence inSarasota, we get a lot of people
seeing our clinics and saying,hey, would you be willing to
(17:10):
come to this territory?
And we're going to be openingup that territory in August And
then in 2024, we actually havefour more clinics on order that
will be coming to us and we'llbe putting them in other parts
of Florida We haven't decidedwhere, but still kind of
building up a wait list ofaccounts that reach out to us
(17:31):
every day saying, hey, i'd loveto work with you, and what we
explain is, hey, we're not inyour area yet, but we'll let you
know and hopefully you know bein your area by 2024.
So excited about our expansions.
Lorie Tesny (17:47):
And the start of this business.
I'm going to just go back tothat real quick.
Was there anybody in yourfamily that you saw personally
dealing with the skin cancerthat kind of led you to this
type of business?
Don Hunt (18:04):
Yes, it's.
you know, what really struck mewith seeing this as a problem
and seeing there as a businesshere was I have a very close
friend.
He lived right across thestreet from me and he had his
father who in a lot of ways is afather figure to me was
(18:25):
diagnosed with melanoma when hewas 40, 45 years old And it was
a very advanced stage ofmelanoma and it's something that
he still lives with today.
This was 20 years ago And healways explains his story where
he actually knew the spot.
(18:46):
It was right behind his leg,his knee, and he knew about that
spot for years and just nevergot it checked out.
Because he has you know, he'sbusy with his personal life, he
has kids and has a job, and justit's difficult to take the time
to get checked And he wasalways worried about it finally
(19:09):
got checked and was rushed to ahospital the following day for
surgery And it's something hestill lives with and you know
gets checked every six months iswhere he's at right now, but
that story and just what he wentthrough, just I saw us being a
(19:32):
help a lot of people like myfriend's father, who just it's
it's can be difficult to takethe time to get checked, and I
know that he would have gottenchecked years earlier if, on
spot came to his place of work.
Lorie Tesny (19:44):
Sure, well, and it is encouraging that you said
that was 20 years ago and he'sstill.
Unfortunately, it's still partof what he's dealing with, but
he's still here dealing with it,and so that says a lot for the
care he received when this wasactually discovered and
diagnosed, that they were ableto keep him healthy enough to
(20:07):
get through all that, because itdoes take a toll on your body
getting the surgeries and thetreatments and everything else.
It as much as it's saving yourlife, there's also a backside to
all that, and that's, you know,that's where bringing light to
all this before you get to thatpoint is so extremely important.
Don Hunt (20:29):
Absolutely.
I mean, you know, laurie, justgoing through it with yourself
and you know that's, that'samazing.
Just, you were in great handswith Moffitt Moffitt's an
impressive hospital and you knowwhat they do and how quickly.
I'm always impressed at howquickly they get our patients to
be seen where we give them areferral, and I don't know what
(20:51):
your experience was, but we'vehad patients literally go in to
a surgical procedure the nextday.
Lorie Tesny (20:58):
Wow, yeah, mine was moving to Florida and trying to
reestablish my team locally, soI had a point of reference and
saw a symposium through AIM atMelanoma And one of their
doctors was speaking and I'mlike he said something that I
wanted to talk to him aboutbecause I was like, really
(21:19):
That's what you would do, and sothat's how that relationship
started and luckily it wasstarted at a time where I didn't
need anything And so we couldkind of establish a baseline
with history and things likethat, so that when something did
happen I felt very, verycomfortable.
I know how hard it is when youget thrust into this new world
(21:43):
of oncology and surgery.
It's overwhelming, and so tohave that comfort, to know that
I was in good hands, really didmake a big difference.
Don Hunt (21:54):
Yes, absolutely.
Lorie Tesny (21:56):
So talk a little bit about your involvement with
the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Don Hunt (22:03):
Yeah.
So we had a relationship withthe Skin Cancer Foundation where
they've been a great resourceand they really do have an
amazing website, you know.
I mean, 10,000 people arediagnosed every day with skin
cancer And just I think they'rean amazing resource for our
patients and for people thatwant to know the facts and
(22:25):
figures and articles about skincancer, and so we've used them
to as a resource to shareeducational material.
Yes, we have thousands ofemails from our patients,
because when one of the thingswe do when a patient checks in
is they give us their emailaddress, so we create them a
(22:47):
patient portal where they canlog in and see their results.
And so what we started doing isactually sending monthly emails
to our patients and we weresaying, okay, let's create some
educational material that we cansend.
And just, the Skin CancerFoundation has so many great
resources.
They were like, okay, whyreinvent the wheel?
(23:09):
Why not use what they have tosupport that type of educational
material be sent?
So that's how we work with theSkin Cancer Foundation And I
think that they are a fantasticorganization that helps people
every day just learn whatthey've been diagnosed with or
(23:31):
what they're going through.
Lorie Tesny (23:33):
What is the plan dealing with potential weather
issues?
being in Florida, i love thefact that you guys are mobile
because, like boat people, youcan try to get out of the way.
It's really important, and thenyou're always established
wherever you go.
So have you thought about whatis involved with if something
(23:55):
does come up?
Don Hunt (23:58):
Yeah, so during the day there's sometimes inclement
weather.
that affects just how patientsare seen, And normally we're
lucky we're in Florida.
for the most part It's notreally an issue until you hit.
September or October when wedealt with it this year, where
we had two clinics over in FortMyers And there were a lot of
(24:21):
patients that we couldn't seebecause of what happened And the
devastation was just amazing.
We had a lot of staff membersget involved and on spot got
involved to help with anyvolunteering efforts And it was
amazing to see our team cometogether during that.
But really, to answer yourquestion, though, it doesn't
(24:46):
affect us as much as we thoughtAnd our staff is trained when
there's lightning Lightning isprobably the biggest thing that
we get nervous about.
And just making sure that thesafety of our staff, patients
and mobile clinics is at thehighest priority, and we have
(25:07):
plans in place for inclementweather.
Lorie Tesny (25:09):
So, as far as the services you're providing, how
do you charge the patients anddo you do insurance?
Don Hunt (25:17):
Yeah, we're really like any typical dermatology
practice where we have 95% ofour patients have insurances
that we accept, so we acceptthose insurances, and we do have
a self-pay option where it's$100 for an office visit if you
do not have health insurance.
(25:38):
We come across that withCanadians.
A lot of communities that wevisit where there's Canadians
and they don't have US healthinsurance, we have that self-pay
option, so we're trying to geta network with every health
insurance payee out there.
The reason for that is whattype of practice would we be if
(26:00):
we're trying to improve accessof care And we show up to a
community and a patient walks upand says, hey, i have this
insurance, and we say sorry, wecan't see you, it just doesn't
really fit with our model.
So our plan is to get a networkwith every insurance and the
only one we're not in networkwith which has been a little bit
of a process, isUnitedHealthcare.
(26:20):
There are some UnitedHealthcareinsurance out of network
benefits that some plans have,but UnitedHealthcare is a
difficult one to get a contractwith, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, we turn away andthousands of you in
UnitedHealthcare patients a yearbecause we're not a network.
We do push them to our self-payoptions, but unfortunately which
(26:44):
I get a lot of people wouldrather go to a place where their
insurance is covered.
Lorie Tesny (26:49):
Sure, sure, well, and stepping into the world of
insurance.
if you talk to anybody who'sgone through a diagnosis, i'll
tell you how much fun that is,navigating through a whole new
learning curve And so, yeah,getting involved with insurance.
I give you a lot of kudos forpursuing that, because that's
(27:10):
not a fun place to be, is tryingto coordinate all that and, you
know, especially processingclaims and things like that.
That's a lot.
Don Hunt (27:19):
It is.
Yeah, it's quite the operation,but it's definitely worth it.
Where you know a lot of, we seea lot more patients being in
network and you know helping.
I mean, i get you pay a lot ofmoney for health insurance and
want to see the practices thatare covered, so sure, but yeah,
(27:40):
that's just that.
That's how we operate with thetrances.
Lorie Tesny (27:44):
So I want to just you know thank you, because I
know you took time out of a busyday to talk to me and share
about what you're doing and whyit's so important for you to do
what you're doing.
And I am very humbled by thefact that you guys have put so
much out there with thisbusiness and there's so much of
(28:05):
your family involved in thisbusiness, so I know that can get
interesting too, but I justlove the fact that you're so
determined to do make thesechanges and to make this
available to people, becausethere really is a deficit in a
lot of these areas.
Don Hunt (28:22):
Well, thank you, laurie.
Yeah, I applaud you for, youknow, bringing awareness out to
the individuals to see, gettinghow important it is to get
tracked.
I mean, we have, we've had someamazing stories that I can
share and then you know,unfortunately, some difficult
stories as well.
And it's just, it's skin canceris totally curable as long as
(28:47):
it's it's detected early.
And you know, we alwaysencourage everyone to get
tracked, whether you're withOnspot or another practice So
important and it can save yourlife.
For a 15 minute exam, my father, we actually found two melanoma
spots in site, two on his chest, and luckily we found it early
(29:07):
and he is on spot found that andhe isn't a much better
situation today.
Lorie Tesny (29:13):
So that's, that's excellent.
Yeah, that's, that's huge.
And it's interesting becauseit's misleading.
I think people's assumption isif you go to Florida, that's
where it's going to be And it'severywhere.
It doesn't matter where youlive.
I mean, the exposure is theexposure and it's a cumulative
(29:34):
effect, so you matter if you'rein Florida or not.
it is something that absolutelyneeds to be kept up on.
Don Hunt (29:42):
Mm, hmm, couldn't agree more.
So what you're doing is great,lori, and I really appreciate
you having me here and talk toOnspot story and just sharing
the importance of gettingchecked.
Lorie Tesny (29:55):
Thank you, don.
Thank you again for your timeAnd I appreciate all you guys do
And I look forward to possiblymeeting you someday.
That sounds great, lori.
I love that as well.
Thank you.
Onspot Dermatology isrevolutionizing the detection of
skin cancer through theirinnovative mobile clinics.
The mission to make skin examsaccessible to everyone is being
(30:15):
achieved by taking their fightagainst skin cancer on the road
In just minutes.
Onspot is able to provide fullbody skin exams by bringing the
dermatology practice directly tothe patients.
This groundbreaking approach,born out of the pandemic, has
already made a significantimpact with the establishment of
seven high tech mobile clinicsin Florida.
By creating a unique patientexperience, they are changing
(30:41):
the way people interact withtheir dermatologists and making
a difference in countless livesby transforming dermatology and
the availability to care.
If you would like to know moreabout Onspot Dermatology, visit
their website atonspotdermatologycom.
I'll make sure the link is inthe episode description for you.
It's time to feel empowered.
(31:05):
It's time to make every choicecount.
If you or someone you careabout would like to share their
experience, or if you know anorganization to help even out
the pandemic, message me throughmy website.
Supporting this show allows usto continue to make a difference
in someone's life.
You can share this episode withfriends and family and
contribute financially.
Just go to sailing through lifepodcastcom to help out.
(31:33):
Stay Anchored.
Chat with you next time.
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