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Here’s a story we have heard too many times - You go to the doctor for a routine checkup, mammogram, or to have something looked at that seems abnormal. The doctor or radiologist decides to order a few more tests just to be safe, including a biopsy. After waiting anxiously for days or even weeks, the results arrive. It’s cancer. Finding out 'it's cancer' was the reality for nearly 2 million people across the United States in 2022 according to the CDC.

Many cancer patients and survivors describe everything after this as, ‘being in a fog,’ or ‘white noise,’ where it’s difficult or impossible to hear anything else being said after the words ‘you have cancer.’ Oncologists understand this and will usually suggest that a friend or family member also attend early appointments to take notes and provide emotional support.

If you are like most practices, the words “virtual care” have become critical to your survival. With the changes the world has faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities that once relied exclusively on in-person treatment have been forced to explore ways to meet their patients’ needs without always seeing them face-to-face. By 2021 and 2022, most practices have used telehealth software to enable a virtual meeting with a patient. These programs allow physicians to talk through simple issues with patients during a live video consultation. But what about complex cases, chronic issues, or complicated cancer diagnoses? What if your practice offers specialized care that requires an assessment of a patient’s case history?

Basic telehealth tech does not typically have an answer for these questions as the systems lack a comprehensive method for aggregating and presenting health information, especially for records like test results and radiology scans. It’s for these cases that your virtual care toolbox needs to include a method for Remote Second Opinions. But what is a Remote Second Opinion (RSO)?

Well, I’m glad you asked…

We work with hospitals, specialty programs, and insurance companies across the spectrum when it comes to the maturity of their second opinion programs. Some have well-established processes, while others are just getting off the ground. Regardless of where you are today, you might be asking yourself if it makes more sense to invest all at once in the people and software needed to run a successful program or if dipping your toes in the water with a Proof of Concept might be a better approach. We can help you answer this question.

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.