Second opinion services are on the rise. Employers offering second opinion services as part of their benefit program increased almost 10% in 2020 vs. 2019 based on the latest information from HFMA. According to HR Dive, not only are employers looking to reduce costs, they also want to ensure their employees get the right treatment so they can get well as fast as possible.
There’s a lot at stake for patients facing a critical diagnosis. A study from the Mayo Clinic shows that a third of patients receive an incorrect diagnosis and 88% of patients who get a second opinion receive a different or altered diagnosis.
With this increase in second opinion services, employer’s insurance programs, Third Party Administrators (TPAs), and other second opinion firms need to be prepared to handle this volume influx and ensure that their processes can facilitate these services as efficiently as possible.
How can leaders drive efficiency in their organizations? One key area leaders should consider is the organization of the medical records they are collecting for their clinical team’s review. Gathering patient data can be a cumbersome task. What’s even more cumbersome than retrieving data? Organizing it in a way that makes it easy for clinical teams to identify the most critical information necessary to prepare for a new patient evaluation.
Imagine if you could promise hospital clinical teams patient data delivered in a specialty-focused, organized, digital format that:
- collates all retrieved records into categories, with a cover sheet that enables you to easily navigate to each medical record category.
- puts all records within each category in reverse chronological order.
- highlights key terms that are most important for the clinical team to identify, with a search function for these key terms.
- integrates into the health system’s EMR for easy access by multiple members of the care team at the same time.
This type of clinically-organized data is a game changer for the teams that need to efficiently assess a patient’s situation in order to create an effective treatment plan. Being able to access and identify pertinent information drives more informed treatment plans and productive patient appointments. Delivering patient data in this format – for the growing numbers of people accessing second opinion services – is what will allow second opinion organizations to offer a more efficient and cost-effective solution for employers.
A focused effort around how patient data is compiled and delivered to health systems can:
- help your organization stand out against competitors offering similar services.
- enable your organization to take on more clients.
- showcase how your team can offer a high level of care for employees.
Our team has been working with clinical teams at top hospitals across the country for 15 years. Put that experience to work for you. Take advantage of the best practices we have developed – that clinicians “can’t live without” – to drive more efficient and streamlined care for your clients’ employees.
