International Second Opinion Services

What is the International Second Opinion Service?

As a Discovery Health Medical Scheme member, you have access to expert collaborative review services from Cleveland Clinic, an international medical centre in the United States, for life-threatening and life-changing conditions.

What is the value of the International Second Opinion Service?

Our experience tells us that there are times when a specialist may want to collaborate with other experts in a certain field of medicine, especially when their patients are facing life-threatening and life-changing conditions, particularly when this involves the use of new treatment modalities. In some cases, a patient may ask their specialist to assist them in getting an additional expert review for these conditions and for those that impact the quality of their life. To make this possible, we have collaborated with Cleveland Clinic, who are recognised worldwide as a leader in healthcare.

Why the International Second Opinion Service?

As a patient, you may ask your specialist to assist you in getting a second opinion for these conditions and for those that impact the quality of your life.

Through this partnership, all Discovery Health Medical Scheme members have the opportunity to get an online second opinion from a Cleveland Clinic physician specialist. In addition, this limits the possibility of suffering from cyberchondria - self-diagnosis through search engines may lead to excessive worrying and anxiety, especially in people with no medical training.

How is this benefit beneficial to you?

As a valued member, you have the opportunity to get an online second opinion from a Cleveland Clinic physician specialist. This value-added service is available for members on all Discovery Health Medical Scheme plans.

As a value-added service, Discovery Health will oversee the second opinion process on behalf of you and your treating doctor. From the initial case creation, a dedicated case manager will facilitate all the interactions between the treating doctor in South Africa and The Cleveland Clinic.

Who is Cleveland Clinic?

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit, multi-speciality academic and medical centre. Cleveland Clinic integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education, which achieves optimal outcomes in the treatment of rare and complex conditions. They are recognised as leaders in providing expertise especially in cases where specialized input would be of benefit to a patient's case.

What is The Clinic by Cleveland Clinic?

The Clinic by Cleveland Clinic offers access expert collaborative reviews by Cleveland Clinic physicians either online or by email correspondence, for more than 1,200 diagnoses. The Expert Collaborative Review service enables easy, secure access to world-renowned medical expertise from the comfort of home. All reviews are completed by Cleveland Clinic expert physicians - with no travel needed.

These diagnoses include conditions that impact a person's quality of life, or more serious life-threatening conditions, including inborn errors of metabolism like nephroblastoma, and unusual conditions in children like insulinoma.

See what a Cleveland Clinic expert has to say about the Discovery Health partnership

Medicine at its best is a collaboration among doctors. When your health or that of a loved one is at stake, it's important to have peace of mind that your diagnosis is correct and your treatment plan is optimized.

See how the Clinic by Cleveland assisted Vlado

When Vlado's doctors in Bulgaria told him he needed spinal fusion surgery, he felt unsure and wanted an expert second opinion from a worldwide expert -- so he reached out for a Virtual Second Opinion by Cleveland Clinic.

When a review might be beneficial?

Diagnosed with a serious condition, such as cancer
About to make a major decision about a medical next step, such as surgery
Considering a treatment that involves risk or has significant consequences
Dealing with a condition or chronic illness that isn't improving or is getting worse
Confused about/struggling with a diagnosis or treatment plan
Told a condition isn't treatable and struggling between choosing from multiple treatment options

Programme Benefits

World-renowned medical expertise

Get access to 3,500 expert physicians in 550+ subspecialties at one of the top hospitals in the U.S.

Easy access and a timely turnaround

Start the process and receive a written report from a Cleveland Clinic physician in about two weeks.

No travel required

Take advantage of the service from the comfort of your own home.

Peace of mind for health decisions

Become more informed about your condition and more certain in the management of your health.

What do you get?

We offer our members the opportunity to have an expert collaborative review from a Cleveland Clinic physician specialist. This value-added service is available for members on all Discovery Health Medical Scheme plans.

As a value-add service, Discovery Health will oversee the collaborative review process on behalf of you and your treating doctor. From the initial case creation, a dedicated case manager will facilitate all the interactions between the treating doctor in South Africa and The Clinic.

Cover

As soon as the final medical report from The Clinic is received, Discovery Health Medical Scheme will reimburse you 75% of the amount paid to The Clinic.

This amount does not affect your benefits, as the Scheme pays this amount.

Note for Executive Plan members:

We cover 100% of the cost of the second opinion service

We cover 100% of the cost of the collaborative review service.

Steps to follow to access the second opinion service

Step 1

To access the expert collaborative review service your treating doctor will request an online second opinion from a Cleveland Clinic physician specialist on your behalf.

Step 2

You need to pay Discovery Health Medical Scheme within 10 days for the second opinion process to start

Cost

The cost for a second opinion from The Clinic is $1300. This fee is inclusive of a radiology and pathology review as well as a detailed opinion from the Specialist who provides a comprehensive report to your treating doctor.

Payment

You need to pay the relevant amount that applies to your case within 10 days after your case is opened, and send the proof of payment to:

CLEVELAND_PAYMENTS@discovery.co.za

Note for Executive Plan members: You will not need to pay upfront as the consultation is covered in full by the Scheme for your plan.

Step 3

You must send signed consent forms when you send your proof of payment

Both Discovery Health Medical Scheme and The Clinic require consent forms to be completed.

The case manager will send you the consent forms, The Clinic terms and conditions and a cover letter that will assist you when completing the form.

Please note:

If we do not receive proof of payment and the completed consent forms within 10 days after the case has been logged on our system, we will close the case.

Step 4

We will send the case details to The Clinic, by Cleveland Clinic physician specialist

Once our case manager receives the required documents, we will send the details of the case to a physician expert at Cleveland Clinic.

The expert specialist at Cleveland Clinic will review the case and provide Discovery Health's case manager with a detailed collaborative review report, including treatment recommendations.

Our case manager will give the report to your doctor who will share the report and discuss the Cleveland Clinic physician's recommendations with you.

Other important information

The Clinic, by Cleveland Clinic online second opinion service is not for treatment related to scheme exclusions.
The Clinic, by Cleveland Clinic service is for when a Discovery Health Medical Scheme member faces a life-threatening diagnosis or one that affects their quality of life.
The second opinion provides confirmation of the diagnosis and treatment recommendations. It does not include the actual treatment related to any of the conditions and treatments that are excluded from cover on the Discovery Health Medical Scheme.

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