Stanford Medicine Launches Online Second Opinion Program
Stanford Medicine doctors provide second opinions via a new online portal.
Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health (SCH) have launched a new online service that provides patients, both adults and children, with a second opinion about their diagnosis or treatment plan. The program began November 1, 2018 at both hospitals, and has provided online second opinions to approximately 500 patients to date.
“We know there are people who are receiving care across the United States and around the world who are looking for an expert opinion to confirm that they are receiving the best care,” said Christopher Sharp, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer for SHC. “They recognize Stanford has the expertise to ensure that they’re receiving the right approach.”
Second opinions are not new to Stanford Medicine physicians. Most have been sought out by friends or colleagues to deliver second opinions informally. The Online Second Opinion Program formalizes this service, giving patients a clear path to Stanford expertise, while simplifying the process for Stanford doctors and compensating them for their time.
“The Online Second Opinion Program offers children and families across the country and around the world equitable access to top-notch sub-specialty providers who are only found at an elite children’s hospital like ours,” said Natalie Pageler, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer for Stanford Children’s Health.
How it Works
Stanford has contracted with Grand Rounds to run its second opinion web portal. When patients make a request on the Stanford site, the Grand Rounds team communicates with the patients, collects and organizes their medical records, and has a Grand Rounds physician review and summarize what is sent to the Stanford Medicine specialist.
“What our doctors receive is a curated, summarized document, not a stack of papers,” said Sharp. Physicians can review the patient’s medical history, specific questions, pertinent imaging, lab and diagnostic reports, and write or dictate their second opinion, all within the web portal. Patients pay $700 for the service and receive a second opinion typically within two weeks.
“Grand Rounds works on the back end to make sure that the patient experience is seamless and the information presented back to the Stanford expert is complete and accessible,” said Sharp. “I think the reason it’s been so positively received by our physicians is that it’s optional, it comes packaged and ready for them, they know what to expect and it’s easy to do.”
Extending Stanford’s Reach
The online Second Opinion Program offers patients a new entry point for care, essentially extending Stanford’s reach in a digital-first manner, said Sharp. It can help specialty physicians identify patients who might not otherwise have come to Stanford. Many faculty physicians seek potential patients with the specific medical conditions they have the expertise to treat, he said. If a patient chooses to come to Stanford or Stanford Children’s Health after receiving a second opinion, there is a clear path to transfer them into the Stanford system and schedule their first appointment, said Sharp. Most requests for online second opinions are for oncology, cardiovascular health, neurosurgery, neurology and orthopaedics.
“The feedback has been really favorable,“ said Chris O’Dell, Director, Digital Health Strategy and Alliances. “Physicians like the simplicity and ease of use, and believe that it is maximizing their time.” The benefits for patients are equally important, he said. “The ability to make the right medical decision with confidence and peace of mind is really what we’re trying to achieve here.”
For children who have complex or rare medical conditions, the help they need is often quite far away, said Pageler. “There are some things that only a children’s hospital like Stanford Children’s can provide,” she said. “Before the family makes the flight out here, having that ability to have an online second opinion to make sure it’s worth the effort and the expense is incredibly valuable.”
The Online Second Opinion program is part of an overall virtual strategy being developed at Stanford, said O’Dell. “We want to create convenient, inexpensive options for patients to access our system.” Much in the way that individuals shop online before going to the mall, patients’ first touch points with Stanford might increasingly be through digital channels such as online second opinions or video visits.
Since August 2018, over 1,000 Stanford patients have had a video visit in primary care or with one of our specialty departments. Another program, PhotoCare MD, provides primary care physicians with a virtual dermatology review of a patient’s skin condition, streamlining care for patients and reducing unnecessary dermatology referrals. PhotoCare MD has reduced the need for a dermatology referral in 73 percent of cases, said O’Dell.
“We want to focus on transforming health care delivery so that it feels much more like how you access the other components of your life,” he said. “We are transitioning to a broad virtual strategy, where across the care continuum, there are transparent virtual options for patients to access Stanford.”