What is a second opinion?

Second opinions are becoming a popular procedure for anyone who receives a critical diagnosis that does not require immediate emergency action. Informed patients realize that the diagnosis of any individual physician is not infallible. Two heads are always better than one!

Over the last few years, more and more research has been coming out showing the value to patients of receiving a second opinion for rare or complex diagnoses. In a now well-known study, 88% of patients referred to the Mayo Clinic's General Internal Medicine Division by outside physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and physicians from primary care practices received a new or refined diagnosis. Another study found that diagnostic errors affect 1 in 20 adults in the United States, representing a possible 12 million patients each year receiving a misdiagnosis. Still another study showed that receiving a second opinion improved the diagnostic error rate from over 50% to 26% in the model used. 

When considering new programs for your hospital, it is important to prioritize improving the patient experience. There are a lot of initiatives that could achieve this goal, but leveraging the right technology to deliver care to patients regardless of their geographic location is an initiative that can not only increase your current patient satisfaction but also attract new patients to your organization.

Technology is an important element used to improve medical practice workflows. There are hundreds of different solutions intended to streamline the patient and physician experience. One of those solutions is the cloud PACS, which makes medical images accessible across devices, operating systems, and locations. This is a great solution for centralized image storage and easy access to critical medical images. However, medical practices often need access to more than just one solution to holistically manage patient care, which is where integrations come into play. 

Whether you are looking to collect your medical records to switch doctors, get a second opinion, or to keep your own records, the process can be rather long and cumbersome. Records collection processes can vary drastically depending on the institution you are collecting from and the types of records you are seeking. Every institution has different processes, different request forms, and even different departments charged with record collection. This blog is meant to highlight the most common methods and hurdles we have found in the record collection process, it is by no means an exhaustive list and is only meant to introduce you to this process.