2^nd Opinion from Medical and Surgical Specialists trained at AIIMS

When you are unwell and consult a doctor, you normally go by what your doctor says. There are occasions when you or your doctor thinks that the issue is or could be serious; for example, you have a potentially life-threatening illness, or you have been advised an elective surgery. In such scenarios, it's but natural that one desires a 2nd opinion. The issue is from whom?

Who can ask for a second opinion?

On your own (Patient) initiative or that of your guardian or duly authorized representative (at your expense) with or without the approval of your doctor
Your doctor with your prior approval (General Practitioner; Family Doctor, Specialist, Clinic, Nursing Home or Hospital in Tier 2 and 3 cities) (at your expense)
Your health insurance company (at the Insurance company's expense)
Your employer; who has reason to doubt the validity of a medical certificate, the necessity of a recommended treatment/surgery, or whether an injury is work-related or not (at employers' expense)

When

When your doctor fails to make a diagnosis or is not sure about it or you have reason to doubt it or you want a reconfirmation to be relieved of your anxiety.
When you have undergone treatment but your symptoms persist.
When the treatment suggested is costly or risky.
When your doctor declares that your disease is untreatable.
When you have been advised surgery but you are uncertain about it.
When an earlier surgery has led to unexpected complications.
When you're considering participating in a trial for a new drug.
When you're considering some new experimental approach or a procedure that involves using experimental instruments.
When the suggested option requires major travel to a distant city, and you are wondering whether it is worth it.
When multiple options appear to be suitable solutions for your health problem and you don’t know what is best for you in your particular circumstances.

From whom

This is the most difficult issue - from whom to take the second opinion, without wasting precious time and money. More often than not, we start by asking near and dear ones for a recommendation, search the Internet, or both. These random opinions are quite often unreliable and may only confuse matters. You need to be confident that the specialist chosen by you for providing the second opinion is indeed trustworthy, that is, capable, honest, reliable, and fit for your needs.
AIIMS, have made an impeccable reputation of being the best medical institution in the country for over 60 years. It is the best in India in medical education, research, and high-quality patient care. Given a choice, everybody would like to take at least one opinion from AIIMS, as AIIMS opinion is the last word in medicine in India. But the difficulty is that there are long queues for an appointment with a senior specialist, overcrowding and, therefore, lack of personal attention. In addition, you may have to travel a long distance to reach AIIMS, New Delhi or any of the other AIIMSs established in the last decade or so.

What is the next best? The next best is AIIMS trained doctors in private practice. These are doctors who got the opportunity to be trained and work at AIIMS. The kind of values, learning opportunities, training, clinical experiences, and ethos of AIIMS makes AIIMS trained doctors truly amongst the best in the field nationally and internationally.
This is why we have started this portal where a second opinion is given by doctors you can trust - AIIMS trained doctors - because 'a second opinion' should be 'the final second opinion'.
By creating the AIMS2Health portal, which is a portal of AIIMS trained doctors, you can have the convenience, quality of getting a second opinion for your medical/surgical condition from the comfort of your home, through virtual interaction by video if you so wish.
AIIMS quality is only a click away!

Time required

Normally within three working days after you have provided all the relevant information and papers. Depending on the complexity of your case, and the places where you may have had previous testing or treatment, it may take you a lot of time to provide us all your relevant information and medical records. This impacts the time taken to render the opinion. Our focus is to take the burden off of you, and we will do our best to facilitate the collection of your records in a timely fashion.

AIMS2Health aims to provide you a timely, accurate, comprehensive, and tailored 2nd opinion in the shortest possible time, which is 72 hours or less in the vast majority of cases. It may take much shorter or longer, depending on known, unknown and unknowable risk factors and situations. The time count starts only after ALL relevant information, reports, images, specimens, slides, etc have been received by AIMS2Health.

Common situations:

Interpretation of images: X-Ray, MRI, CT, PET-CT, Ultrasound, Mammogram: Within 24 hours (One working day; our working day is from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm IST)
When the first and second opinion does not differ at all or in a significant manner: Within 72 hours (three working days)
When there is great divergence in a first and second opinion, the timeframe cannot be predicted but normally 2nd opinion would be given within 7 days.
If you want the two doctors (1st opinion and 2nd opinion) to review your case together: normally 2nd opinion would be given within 7 days.
Multi-speciality (Tumour) Board: Two weeks
Complex cases where further investigations are needed. The exact time frame cannot be indicated.
The doctor needs to examine you in person; this additional timeframe cannot be estimated.

MORE: Unknown risk factors/situations

When the information provided to AIMS2Health is insufficient, such as the poor resolution of images or incomplete/illegible medical records or are in a foreign/State language.
Delays in the rendering of the 2nd Opinion could occur due to failures of the electronic equipment. Illness/accident of the specialist who was to provide the second opinion
You chose the wrong specialist/super-specialist. For example, if you selected a Radiologist with a super-specialty that may not be suitable for interpreting your particular image, then additional time may be required to render the 2nd Opinion.
Multiple 2nd opinions are needed based on the comments/analysis of the specialist chosen by you. For example, if you’re seeking a 2nd opinion on your treatment plan, this may or may not automatically include a second opinion on your pathology or X-ray MRI, CT, PET-CT, and/or Ultrasound reports.
A pathologist from whom you may be getting a second opinion will usually want the original tissue samples and/or any slides that were made after your biopsy or surgery. Other necessary materials may include the pathology report, any written medical history pertinent to your diagnosis, etc.
If you want the second doctor plans to communicate with your doctor about his or her findings, beyond just sending the report — especially if there is any new or different information that could impact your care.

Pricing and Payment Policy

Per 1st Opinion Case:

Single General Practitioner/Family Physician: Rs. 1,000 (Rupees one thousand only)
Single Specialist: 1,500 (Rupees one thousand five hundred only)

Per 2nd Opinion Case:

Single specialist: Rs. 2,500 (Rupees two thousand five hundred only)
Team of two specialists: 3,500 (Rupees three thousand five hundred only)
Board (three or more : Rs. 5,000 (Rupees five thousand only)

These costs include:

Up to 5 min of free consultation per day, for the next 6 days, via SMS, Whatsapp message per day for the next 6 days after the day of first consultation with a general practitioner or family doctor first/second opinion or specialist/sub specialist for first opinion.
The basic registration fee for running the AIMS2Health web-based platform services including the videoconferencing facility, online record storage fees, etc;
The case/referral summary preparation service; and
The fee(s) payable to the specialist(s) for 2nd opinion service to review and assess your file, for all phone or video consultations with the specialist to verify facts, collect additional information and to discuss your second opinion and answer all your key questions.

It does not include:

Any fee for additional investigations or imaging; or
Any reinterpretation of an image by a radiologist or a specimen by a pathologist, when that task is secondary to that of the specialist consulted by you.
The fee(s) payable to the specialist(s) for 2nd opinion service to review and assess your file, for all phone or video consultations with the specialist to verify facts, collect additional information and to discuss your second opinion and answer all your key questions. More. . .

Sample Reports

Patient Medical Records

It is patient’s progress or medical status. What you can expect from this report includes diagnosis, as well as the patient’s condition. It is a vital written document that describes the findings of an individual or group of people. A medical report template should contain nothing but accurate and credible data.

2nd Opinion from Medical and Surgical Specialists trained at AIIMS