The Purview Blog

Patient Record Disconnect

The last thing a patient needs when they are sick, is to have to scurry around and collect their medical records from the various providers who generated the patient’s medical records. Often these records can help to understand a disease progression that is critical for the patient’s treatment plan. But patient records often reside at various providers who store these in proprietary, incompatible and disconnected silos, often requiring the patient show up in person to receive a CD or printed paper copy. Without these records in hand, a patient’s diagnosis can be incorrect or incomplete. Expensive and sometimes uncomfortable tests may have to be performed again.

An important question when exploring the benefits of remote second opinions, other than your patients’ demand, is the potential for increasing your revenue. You need to be sure it’s worth your investment before committing, and we get that. In this post we will walk you through the costs associated with offering remote second opinions and the potential revenue to help you decide whether it is an investment that you want to make.

Remote second opinions are more in demand than ever before. This is due in part to a general desire for patient convenience but also accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although restrictions are lifting globally, patients are still nervous to travel to hospitals. If you've ever considered offering second opinions, now would be a good time to get started.

An important factor to consider is whether you should handle the process in-house or instead partner with a concierge referral service. While you may feel like the process is too daunting, you may be surprised to learn that the technology available can manage the bulk of heavy lifting and allow you to maintain financial control of all generated revenue from second opinions.

If you are licensed in a subspecialty, there is a strong likelihood that someone is seeking your opinion.  You won’t be surprised to hear that some subspecialties like Oncology, Cardiology and Neurology are always in demand. But plenty of others, including: dentistry, Orthopedics, ENT’s OBGYNs and others, are also finding demand for their services. You may be under the impression that this is a difficult and costly service to begin offering, but that just simply is not the case.

As a primary care physician (PCP), you may feel as though you are less at the forefront of healthcare than you once were. This may be due in part to younger generation's tendencies to opt for other options, but that doesn't need to be the case. Understanding these shifts in healthcare and the priorities of these generations, combined with implementation of certain technologies, can help you adapt.