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FAQ's
Who is Best Doctors, Inc?
What types of services does
Best Doctors offer?
How long has Best Doctors
been available in Canada?
How many Best Doctors
physicians are in Canada and around the world?
How does Best Doctors
determine who “the best” are?
Isn’t asking “If you or
a loved one…” a little simplistic?
How does Best Doctors avoid
personal bias during the selection process?
Does Best Doctors pay
physicians or can physicians pay to be included in the database?
How does the local treating
doctor benefit from a Best Doctors physician’s involvement?
Isn’t asking for a second
opinion from Best Doctors insulting to my doctor?
What is the nature of the
cases reviewed by Best Doctors?
Is Best Doctors promoting a
two-tier health care system in Canada?
Will the Canadian
government view Best Doctors negatively?
How have Canadian doctors
reacted to Best Doctors?
Can a patient working with
Best Doctors arrange access to the specialist quicker than a
patient not working with Best Doctors?
Who is Best
Doctors, Inc?
Best Doctors, Inc. is a company that connects people with the
best medical care when they need it most. Best Doctors physicians
are those that other physicians consider to be the best in their
specialty area worldwide. For more than a decade, Best Doctors has
been providing peace of mind to people suffering from serious
illnesses or injuries, by delivering sound medical information
when it matters most.
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What types of
services does Best Doctors offer?
Best Doctors provides a unique combination of information and
access to the best medical care to individuals faced with a
serious illness or injury. Services include a comprehensive review
of a patient’s medical records to reaffirm or redefine the
original diagnosis and to recommend treatment protocols, as well
as access to the most qualified specialists and facilities
worldwide.
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How long has
Best Doctors been available in Canada?
Best Doctors first entered the Canadian marketplace in the late
1990s. Committed to the Canadian marketplace, Best Doctors
established a Canadian Medical Advisory Board in 2002, comprised
of some of the most prominent physicians across the country. These
renowned experts advise Best Doctors on all aspects of the
Canadian medical community.
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How many Best
Doctors physicians are in Canada and around the world?
The Best Doctors database includes the top 3% to 5% of
specialists in each of the countries in which it does business.
Over the last decade, Best Doctors has developed databases in more
than 30 countries around the world in 40 specialties and more than
400 subspecialties of medicine. In Canada, more than 600
physicians have been identified. Over the next few years, Best
Doctors expects to identify an additional 200 Canadian physicians
considered to be among the elite by their peers.
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How does Best
Doctors determine who “the best” are?
Best Doctors believes that physicians are the most qualified to
evaluate the experience and skill sets of other physicians. The
Best Doctors survey asks physicians, “If you or a loved one
needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer
them?” The responses form the basis of the Best Doctors global
database, which is consistently recognized by doctors, patients
and the public for its quality, integrity and independence.
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Isn’t asking
“If you or a loved one…” a little simplistic?
Actually, by asking this question, Best Doctors mimics the
informal, peer-to-peer referral process that doctors themselves
use to determine the most appropriate physicians for individual
cases. The Best Doctors evaluation process is more complex than
just this initial question. Every year, a new survey is sent to
physicians in the Best Doctors database listing the names of
others in their specialty. For example, cardiologists will receive
ballots with the names of other cardiologists. They use the ballot
to nominate other doctors whom they think should be included in
the next round of voting. Since votes are submitted and tabulated
over a 9 - 12 month period, the database is constantly updated.
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How does Best
Doctors avoid personal bias during the selection process?
There are enough doctors participating in the survey each year
to prevent that from happening. Also, the Best Doctors survey
reaches beyond urban areas to ensure physicians don’t see the
same colleagues voted in year after year. Depending on the medical
specialty, the polls can reach out nationally, even
internationally for certain rare specialty areas, such as
transplant surgery.
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Does Best
Doctors pay physicians or can physicians pay to be included in the
database?
Absolutely not. The only way a doctor can be listed in the Best
Doctors database is to receive enough votes through the peer
review polling process. Furthermore, hospitals cannot make any
payments to Best Doctors to “purchase” a place for their
physicians in the database.
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How does the
local treating doctor benefit from a Best Doctors physician’s
involvement?
By conferring with the Best Doctors physicians, local treating
doctors have the unprecedented opportunity to consult with some of
the world’s top medical specialists regarding a patient. Once
Best Doctors completes its medical evaluation, a report is
returned to the patient’s treating physician in approximately
ten days. Patients with complex, critical medical conditions are
reassured in knowing that their physician has collaborated with a
team of experts to reaffirm their original diagnosis and
recommended treatment protocols.
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Isn’t asking
for a second opinion from Best Doctors insulting to my doctor?
This has not been the experience of Best Doctors. In fact, in
the ten plus years that Best Doctors has been providing medical
second opinions to patients, it has found the opposite to be true.
Treating physicians who have worked with Best Doctors have been
pleased with the results. They appreciate having access to the
most current medical information, as well as the opportunity to
consult with a team of medical specialists working on the
patient’s behalf. Without access to Best Doctors services, this
type of information may have been difficult for a treating
physician to obtain.
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What is the
nature of the cases reviewed by Best Doctors?
The majority of the cases are critical and complex in nature,
often in the areas of oncology, cardiology, neurology, transplant
and rehabilitation.
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Is Best Doctors
promoting a two-tier health care system in Canada?
No. The goal of Best Doctors is to connect patients who have a
serious illness or injury with the best medical information and
care. Canada is internationally recognized as the home of some of
the best medical care and expert physicians. Best Doctors
experiences show that when patients are armed with the right
medical information, more than 90% are able to receive effective
care from their own treating physician. However, in more complex
cases, the patient and treating physician may decide it is in the
patient’s best interest to seek medical care from another
provider, either locally, in another province, or outside of
Canada.
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Will the
Canadian government view Best Doctors negatively?
Best Doctors does not take a position on the Canadian health
care system or the health care systems of the other 29 countries
in which it does business. Its primary purpose is to help patients
make some of the most important decisions of their lives, and to
do so based on the most complete and up-to-date medical
information available. Best Doctors helps patients answer
important questions such as: Do I have cancer? Is the recommended
treatment correct? Are there alternatives that I have not
considered? Particularly today, with the rapid pace of change and
specialization in medicine, the ability to access the most
up-to-date information can be the most empowering, important tool
available to a patient.
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How have
Canadian doctors reacted to Best Doctors?
Best Doctors has received a warm response from the Canadian
medical community. It has also been honoured by earning the
support of some of the country’s most respected physicians, who
now participate on the Canadian Medical Advisory Board.
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Can a patient
working with Best Doctors arrange access to the specialist quicker
than a patient not working with Best Doctors?
No. Individuals who have access to Best Doctors will not move
to the top of the waiting list to see a specific Canadian
specialist, nor will it result in quicker admittance to a Canadian
facility. However, by using Best Doctors services these
individuals will have better access to medical information
regarding which doctors in Canada have the highest level of skills
and expertise for treating their medical condition. They will be
assured that they are in the right queue for their particular
condition.
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