Teal Health, maker of an FDA-approved at-home cervical cancer test kit, is partnering with UC Davis Health on HPV screenings.
The pilot study aims to assess how at-home HPV screens can integrate directly within a health system setting, close preventive care gaps and reduce burden on care teams. The goal is to reach women who are due for care. It is funded through Teal’s NIH SBIR grant.
Teal makes a vaginal self-collection device that looks similar to a tampon, with a soft sponge at the tip that rotates 10 times to collect a sample. Results are typically available within a day of processing at the lab and accompanied by a letter of explanation. The benefit is multifold, Teal executives say: it’s more convenient, and it’s also less painful than a traditional pap smear. Teal has found 95% of women prefer its device to the standard of care.
“This partnership aims to help address gaps in screening by providing patients with more options, including an at-home screening option that may reduce barriers and make it easier for more people to complete recommended screenings,” Julie Dang, assistant director for Community Outreach and Engagement at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, told Fierce Healthcare in emailed comments. Dang is the lead researcher of the study.
At UC Davis, women ages 30 to 65 who are due for a screen will receive outreach with the option to select Teal’s at-home device. Patients will complete an eligibility screen before the kit is mailed to their home. It takes about five minutes for a patient to collect their sample, after which they mail it back. The samples will be processed through the UC Davis in-house lab and the results will be integrated into its EHR and shared with providers and patients.
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Nearly a quarter of women are overdue for their cervical cancer screening. Part of this is attributable to COVID-19, when elective procedures were put on hold, with screen rates plummeting 84%.
“It really hasn’t rebounded,” Kara Egan, co-founder and CEO of Teal, told Fierce Healthcare.
There is also the issue of provider shortages and how hard it is to find appointments that work with working women’s schedules. The other problem is messaging: “A pap smear is a cervical cancer screening—we don’t really convey the importance of that when we use this antiquated term,” Egan said. “This is the job of the health system and the health industry. You have to tell us what’s important—we’re so busy.”
After the pilot, which will run for about six months, researchers will assess how the at-home screening pathway compares with in-clinic screens. They will evaluate screening completion rates, patient engagement, operational feasibility and the program’s ability to reach women due for care.
The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) has put out guidance that follow-up testing needed after a pap smear must be available with no cost-sharing starting in 2027. Teal is working on getting billing coordinated with major commercial payers ahead of that deadline. Last year, the American Cancer Society updated its guidelines to recognize self-collected samples for HPV screens.
Teal hopes to make it as easy as possible to fit into traditional provider workflows as it looks to expand its partnerships beyond its own medical practice. It is partnering with a Labcorp subsidiary to streamline provider ordering from within their interface, and is in talks with other health systems. Ultimately, a screening’s success depends on its triage—where a woman ends up for follow-up care. That’s why Teal is targeting the broader healthcare ecosystem, per Egan, to help streamline referrals.
In general, the way Teal works today is that a patient submits a registration form on its website, then matches with a clinician via Teal’s medical practice. They have a telehealth visit and then the provider orders the kit. Once the patient gets their results back, they can meet with a Teal provider or get referred to in-person care.