Included Health Expert Medical Opinion: access, process, and price
Compare medical second-opinion services → Included Health
Publisher disclosure: Diagnostic Detectives Network. Its own service appears last in the alternatives section. This guide compares published service structure, access, and price; it does not assess care quality.
Provider facts last verified: 21 September 2026. Included Health's published terms depend on the specific employer or health-plan contract; confirm current eligibility and terms directly with Included Health or your plan sponsor.
Included Health was formed when Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand completed their merger in 2021 and adopted the Included Health name later that year. Its Expert Medical Opinion service is offered exclusively through employer and health-plan sponsorship; this guide summarizes what Included Health publishes about eligibility, price, process, and reviewers on its own site. IH-01, IH-06
Included Health's own FAQ states: “Included Health's services are available to members and qualifying dependents who are enrolled in their employer-sponsored medical plan.” No individual or direct-purchase path is published on its site.
Can an individual use Included Health Expert Medical Opinion?
Not directly. Included Health's own pages describe Expert Medical Opinion as a benefit delivered through an employer or health-plan sponsor; no page reviewed here offers a direct-purchase or individual-signup path outside that sponsorship. A person interested in the service needs to check whether their own employer or health plan includes Included Health. IH-01, IH-02
What does Included Health Expert Medical Opinion cost?
Not published. Included Health's own language for members is “completely included in your benefits, at no cost to you,” which describes the member's out-of-pocket cost, not the underlying enterprise contract price paid by the employer or health plan. No per-employee or per-case figure is published anywhere on Included Health's site. IH-02, IH-03
How does the Included Health process work?
Included Health describes three steps: a member requests the service through the Included Health app or website; the company says “we gather all your records, labs, and imaging” after the member signs a consent form; it then finds a specialist to review the case, delivers a written report in the app, and follows up to discuss treatment options and coordinate next steps. The consent-form step is described as a prerequisite to records collection, so a member should expect that step before any records move between providers and Included Health. IH-02
Who reviews the case?
Matched from a network, not named in advance. Included Health describes a pool of “4,000+ of the nation's leading experts from top medical institutions,” citing examples such as UC Davis, Mass General, and Columbia; no individual physician names, credentials, or bios for the reviewing expert are published before the case is matched. IH-02, IH-04
How long does it take?
Included Health publishes a turnaround figure for this service: “You'll receive a detailed written opinion securely within 7–14 business days.” IH-02
What is included — and what is not?
Included: records, labs, and imaging collection; specialist matching and review; a written report; care-coordinator follow-up; and, per Included Health's own language, “no surprise bills, no out-of-pocket expenses” for the eligible member. Included Health's own pages do not publish a specific exclusions list — for example, condition limits or an emergency-use disclaimer are not stated and should be confirmed directly with the plan. International availability is likewise not addressed on the pages reviewed; every example given is US-based, and no page states whether a member living or traveling outside the US can use the service. IH-02, IH-04
Included Health at a glance
| Feature | Included Health Expert Medical Opinion |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Employer/health-plan members and qualifying dependents only |
| Published price | Not published (bundled into employer/health-plan contract) |
| Reviewer | Matched from a 4,000+ physician network; not named in advance |
| Published turnaround | 7–14 business days |
| International availability | Not published; examples given are US-based |
| Corporate lineage | Formed 2021 from the Grand Rounds Health + Doctor On Demand merger |
| Last verified | 2026-09-21 |
Note on a common mix-up: Included Health's lineage runs through Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand, not through 2nd.MD. 2nd.MD is a separate company with its own acquisition history — see the 2nd.MD guide — and is not part of Included Health. IH-05
What alternatives can be considered?
Someone without an eligible Included Health benefit can compare the options below. They are not ranked; each provider should confirm its current terms before a patient submits records or payment.
- Teladoc Medical Experts. Teladoc's Expert Medical Opinion is available at no cost when included in an eligible member's benefit; a direct cash price is not published and direct purchase without a benefit is not clearly confirmed. Read the Teladoc Medical Experts guide.
- 2nd.MD. 2nd.MD is available both through employer/health-plan sponsorship and to individuals who contact the company independently, according to its own site; the price for an independent request is not published. Read the 2nd.MD guide.
- Cleveland Clinic Virtual Second Opinion. Cleveland Clinic publishes direct self-pay routes: $1,690 for a US written report, $1,990 for a report plus provider visit where available, and $4,500 for an international opinion, subject to location rules. Read the Cleveland Clinic guide. CC-01
- Diagnostic Detectives Network. Diagnostic Detectives Network provides independent, private-pay medical second opinions through multi-expert panels of 3–10+ academic physicians, matched to each case from the worldwide medical literature — not from a fixed network. DDN works directly with private individuals and families worldwide — no employer plan, insurance, or membership required. Pricing starts from €6,000 per case; the exact quote depends on panel size and complexity. See what a multi-expert independent panel adds. Start Your Case.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy Included Health's Expert Medical Opinion without an employer plan?
Not based on Included Health's own published pages. The service is described as a benefit for members and qualifying dependents enrolled in an employer-sponsored medical plan; no individual or direct-purchase path is published.
What does Included Health's Expert Medical Opinion cost a member?
Included Health describes the service as included in the member's benefits at no cost to the member. The underlying price paid by the employer or health plan is not published.
Is 2nd.MD the same company as Included Health?
No. Included Health's lineage runs through the 2021 merger of Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand. 2nd.MD has a separate ownership history and is not part of Included Health, even though both offer a similar expert-review service.
Will Included Health tell me which doctor is reviewing my case before the review?
Included Health's own pages describe matching a member to a specialist from its network; they do not publish a mechanism for a member to see the specific reviewing physician's name or credentials before the review is complete.
Is Included Health's Expert Medical Opinion appropriate for an emergency?
No. It is a scheduled records-review service with a published turnaround of 7–14 business days and is not designed for urgent symptoms. Anyone with urgent symptoms should contact local emergency services. DDN is a research-grade informational service — it is not telemedicine, establishes no physician-patient relationship, and is not for emergencies.
Does Included Health publish which hospitals its reviewing physicians come from?
It names examples — UC Davis, Mass General, and Columbia are cited on its own pages — as illustrations of the roughly 4,000-physician network it draws from, rather than a complete or searchable directory. A member can ask which institution and specialty a matched reviewer comes from once the case is assigned.
About this guide and corrections
Publisher: Diagnostic Detectives Network. Its service is disclosed and listed last; every statement about the named provider is limited to the official pages reviewed.
If a fact is wrong or the provider has changed its terms, send the page title, disputed statement, and official source through the contact page. The correction will be checked against the provider's own publication and the visible verification date will be updated when warranted.
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Source register
- IH-01: Included Health — FAQ, accessed 2026-09-21.
- IH-02: Included Health — Expert Medical Opinion (members), accessed 2026-09-21.
- IH-03: Included Health — Expert Medical Opinion (employers), accessed 2026-09-21.
- IH-04: Included Health — Expert Opinion Solutions, accessed 2026-09-21.
- IH-05: Included Health — Grand Rounds and Doctor On Demand Complete Merger, accessed 2026-09-21.
- IH-06: Included Health — Merger Announcement, accessed 2026-09-21.
- CC-01: Cleveland Clinic — Virtual Second Opinions, last verified 2026-07-11.
- DDN: Diagnostic Detectives Network service statements: Medical Second Opinion, How It Works, and Contact.