Blog

Congratulations! Your institution has considered the countless benefits of offering a Remote Second Opinion (RSO) program, such as improved patient access and increased geographic reach. Your team is undoubtedly ready to jump into planning out the best program for your patients and providers. While it can be easy and exciting to visualize your RSO program helping patients, the process of getting to your go-live date can feel overwhelming. Your team may be asking big-picture questions such as:

“How do I start a Remote Second Opinion program?”
“What stakeholders need to be involved in the RSO implementation process?”
“How long will the implementation of my RSO program take?” 

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is globally recognized for their leading research, education and innovation in pediatric care. Consistently ranked as a top pediatric hospital by U.S. News & World Report in their annual Honor Roll, Cincinnati Children’s was most recently ranked as third in the nation in 2022. With second opinion programs emerging as a new channel for accessing specialty expertise from afar, Cincinnati Children’s has ensured that children across the United States can benefit from access to their widely acclaimed disciplines and physicians through their own online second opinion program.  

Now that the dust is settling as we get accustomed to our post-pandemic world, those in the telemedicine world and organizations thinking about providing remote second opinions are still seeking clarity on what remote programs are possible. Has anything changed? Or, are we back to where we started before the pandemic?

In ‘Why Asynchronous Part 1,’ we explored the benefits asynchronous modalities can offer to patients, including improved access, convenience, potential for reduced costs, improved experience, faster throughput, safeguarding of health, and clinical outcomes. Patients have collectively spoken through unprecedented rising demand for telehealth services globally. 

In, ‘Why Asynchronous Part 2,’ we discussed the benefits to providers ranging from their ability to better reach and help new patients, to adding revenue sources, improved market positioning, global brand awareness, opportunities for experience, convenience for physicians, reduced physician burnout, and improved retention. 

Part 3 of our ‘why asynchronous’ series explores the benefits which asynchronous modalities can offer Payers, ranging from improved data and analytics, to improved throughput, controls, and ultimately lower total healthcare expenditures.