What is Medical Second Opinion?

Medical second opinion is when you consult physicians outside your primary clinical team. Today it’s a must-have for a new or chronic medical condition or when surgery is a treatment option.

* We don’t actually like the term “second opinion”, because it anchors you and provides a false sense of security that once you consulted some other doctor, you are done. Often, far from it. We prefer to call our service “Expert Opinion”, because our experts could be your first opinion or your tenth opinion. What matters is not a number, but precision and clarity that our multi-expert panels bring to your medical situation.

And with us, it is always a panel that reviews your case – typically three or more precisely chosen experts. We talk more about our unique method of expert selection in a separate video. If it’s a panel of experts in the same specialty – each expert reviews your situation independently of other panel members. If it’s a panel of experts who focus on a multimodality treatment, like surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy of a tumor – then experts review and discuss your situation in collaboration.

We deal with absolutely any kind of medical problems. Almost 50% of our cases are outside of “medical catastrophes” that people typically associate with a need to get “second opinion”. We’ve helped clients with migraines, persistent sinusitis, various tendon problems, dermatitis, food allergy, asthma, mental health problems, reproductive issues – you name it. Of course, we often help in situations with all kinds of tumors, heart and blood vessel diseases, brain-related problems, and autoimmune conditions. But no problem is too small or too large for our expert panels.

Your medical situation might be rare or it might be common. But there are always several doctors around the world who fit your situation precisely, like a perfect key fits a lock. These experts focus their research and practice on treating precisely your medical problem. They can recognize and focus on nuances of situation that no-one else is capable of picking up.

Experts in our review panels come from different clinics, regions, and often countries. This ensures their views are unbiased and objective. And we moderate the conversation, we analyze and cross-reference all their suggestions with peer-reviewed medical literature. That gets you a very clear understanding of your situation and all aspects of expert treatment recommendations.

It is important to understand that getting an Expert Second Opinion doesn’t mean you don’t trust your primary clinical team. Independent review by a panel of precisely selected experts gives you confidence that your treating physicians are following the best plan for your individual situation. It makes you much more educated and prepared to hold well-informed conversations with your physicians, thus leading to better decisions and outcomes.

Why is it important to get an independent expert opinion on any medical problem? Here are some examples:

There was a study of 13,000 ovarian cancer patients in the United States. It showed that – to quote from The New York Times –

“only 37% of ovarian cancer patients received the care recommended in guidelines”

Another study found that for many medical problems only 55% of patients in the United States received care that met quality guidelines. So it’s 50-50 coin toss whether you get the standard of care. But what about advanced, cutting-edge treatment options?

Even in countries with sophisticated healthcare systems – the United States, UK, and other Western European countries – it is not guaranteed that a patient always gets the best standard of care.

Here is an example. In analysis of three hundred and thirty cancer cases by a major US hospital, 12% of cases reviewed resulted in changes in diagnosis. And 90% of situations resulted in either a new treatment plan or a significant change in prior treatment plan.

In other words, for 40 people in that study a cancer diagnosis was wrong. It also means that these 40 patients received potentially wrong treatment. You don’t want to be one of those people. Many treatments expose patients to significant side effects. Establishing a precise diagnosis is absolutely required for a successful treatment of any disease, not just cancer.

Expert Opinion (the term second opinion is here for the sake of search engines) is best done by a panel of highly specialized physicians who see thousands of situations exactly like yours. These doctors know well the nuances of diagnosis and state of the art treatment for a problem you are facing.

Cross-referencing several views of experts that come from different universities and regions gives an extra confidence to all recommendations on diagnostic and treatment steps.

It is also important that specialists who review your situation do not have a financial, administrative or policy conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest are widespread in modern medicine. Independent Expert Second Opinion can help guide your care according to cutting edge medical science, for any diagnosis. Remember, your health is in your hands – Stay healthy!