Second Opinions Help Employers Cut Costs

Sometimes a firm has to spend money to save money...

By Martha Lynn Craver, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter

August 22, 2007

More employers are offering a new health care benefit: a free second opinion. In what seems to be good medicine for everyone involved, more firms are hiring contractors to help workers get a second opinion from top specialists when they are diagnosed with a serious disease. If the doctors agree on the problem and the treatment, the patient is reassured. If they don't, the patient has a new option to consider.

The advantages include fewer medical errors. Best Doctors Inc., a pioneer firm based in Boston that offers second-opinion services, says its specialists catch incorrect diagnoses in as many as 20% of the cases they examine. And in many others, the specialists disagree with the treatment plan. Best Doctors' clients include ConAgra Foods Inc., EMC Corp., J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and Waste Management Inc. The physicians under contract by Best Doctors come from top hospitals such as Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The companies that contract with Best Doctors pay a monthly fee. This entitles an employee or dependent who has received a serious diagnosis or who is confused or unsure about a diagnosis to contact Best Doctors by phone. A registered nurse then takes a case history and arranges to get all medical records. Two internists separately review the case, then compare notes and decide which specialist in the Best Doctors network should review the case. The specialist reports back to the patient. The process usually takes about 30 days, less if the problem is urgent.

Client companies say the service pays for itself because patients get the best possible care. Which means they get better faster and avoid unnecessary treatment. EMC, a data storage company, introduced the benefit earlier this year to its U.S. employees and is exploring offering it to its Canadian employees and some overseas workers. Utilization has exceeded expectations, as employees have "totally embraced" the program, says Delia Vetter, senior director of benefits and programs at EMC. First quarter savings to the company totaled $80,000. About 12% of employees had a change in diagnosis and 88% had their treatment plans changed.

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