McGill Health Services

Best Doctors® connects seriously ill Canadians and their treating physicians with world renowned specialists to confirm the right diagnosis and right treatment options, without the member having to leave home. Finding and accessing the right medical information and the best doctor for your medical care can be potentially life-saving.

- Vancouver Sun

- Dr. Brian Smith, editor of The New York Times

If you have any questions please contact us:

Telephone: 416-484-9921 Toll Free: 1-877-624-4559

email: info@comprehensivehealth.ca

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	Product Specs
	Consumer FAQ
	Product Overview

	The Best Doctors process has three simple steps:

	1. CONNECT

	One phone call sets it all in motion. By calling Best Doctors, at 1-877-419-BEST (2378) a Member Advocate, a Registered Nurse, will be dedicated to a member’s case and will support them throughout the entire process.

	2. INVESTIGATE

	Best Doctors then compiles all of the medical information, including all doctors’ records, diagnostic tests and pathology. A team of Harvard-trained physicians completes an in-depth analysis of this information and retests all pathology. From their initial diagnosis, the team selects the leading world-renowned expert from the Best Doctors network of 50,000 specialists, who is best qualified in the member’s illness. The specialist makes a final decision based on all the files and tests, and then delivers the findings and recommendations back to the Member Advocate.

	3. ANSWER

	The member and their treating doctor will receive an easy-to-understand report from Best Doctors summarizing the expert doctor’s findings, letting them know if the diagnosis and treatment plan are on target. The Member Advocate will carefully review all the information with the member and answer any questions. Now, the member and their local treating doctor have the answers they deserve to confidently choose the most appropriate next steps together.


	BEST DOCTORS® OVERVIEW
	Program		Yearly renewable membership
	Membership		Individual: One adult Family: One or two parents and an unlimited number of their dependent children under age 18
	Enrollment		One page application with no medical questions or examinations
	Issue Ages		18 – 65
	Renewability		Membership may be renewed each year, for life
	Best Doctors Services		InterConsultation™ FindBestDoc™ FindBestCare®
	Best Doctors Services are available if a Member or their treating physician suspects the Member may have any of the following Medical Conditions¹		AIDS Alzheimer’s Disease Blindness Benign Brain Tumour Cancer Cardiovascular Conditions Coma Deafness Kidney Failure Loss of Speech Multiple Sclerosis Major Organ Transplant Major Trauma Motor Neuron Disease Parkinson’s Disease Paralysis Severe Burns Stroke
	Access to Best Doctors Services		Members can access Best Doctors Services for an unlimited number of the listed Medical Conditions. Best Doctors services are provided as often as the member wants, for life, as long as they remain a Best Doctors member.
	Cost per year		Individual: $150.00 Family: $225.00

SERVICES - Best Doctors 360°™

Members will have access to a Best Doctors Member Advocate, a Registered Nurse, for any one of the Best Doctors services. The Member Advocates are responsible for liaising with the doctors who are reviewing the member’s case, keeping the member informed of the progress and providing them guidance in their time of need.

INTERCONSULTATION™
An in-depth review of the member’s medical files to assist in the development and confirmation of the diagnosis and to help develop a treatment plan. Members and their physicians will have access to the latest technologies and opinions of world-class specialists . With a fast and detailed turnaround of results, the InterConsultation process can reduce potentially serious complications that can result from a misdiagnosis and help the member’s treating physician determine the proper course of action.

FINDBESTDOC™
Best Doctors will complete a customized search using their global network of 50,000 specialists for the best qualified medical expert to meet a member’s specific needs. Best Doctors will arrange referrals*, appointments and can assist in booking accommodations if out-of-town travel is required.
*Access to a Canadian specialist requires a referral from the member’s treating physician.

FINDBESTCARE®
While Best Doctors strives to work within the Canadian healthcare system, they will access hospital and doctor discounts if out of country care is necessary, will ensure vital information is sent to the medical specialists involved and will continually monitor the member’s treatment process to help ensure medical priorities are met. If the member travels away from home to receive treatment, Best Doctors can assist with reservations and accommodations.

Expenses relating to the FindBestDoc and FindBestCare services are the member’s responsibility.

BEST DOCTORS 360°™
This unique program was designed to help members navigate the Canadian healthcare system by providing information that is individually tailored to meet their healthcare needs. Best Doctors 360° provides access to resources, ongoing one-on-one support, customized health coaching and a wide range of health related information.

This is not an insurance product.

¹ If the Member was diagnosed or has received medical treatment or care relating to any of the listed Medical Conditions during the twenty-four (24) months prior to the effective date of the Best Doctors membership, services will not be available for the same Medical Condition(s) for twelve (12) months following the effective date of the membership. Family membership covers two adults and unlimited number of dependent children the age of 18.

BEST DOCTORS and other trademarks shown are trademarks of Best Doctors, Inc. Used under license.

COSTS
Individual	$150 annually	$12.50 monthly
Family	$225 annually	$18.75 monthly

	Q: Is there a monthly modal factor applied to the annual fee?

	A: No. The annual fee is simply 12 times the monthly fee.

	Q: What is the difference between the individual and Family membership?

	A: The individual membership is designed for those who wish to purchase a membership only for themselves. The Family membership includes the member's spouse and all their dependent children under the age of 18.

	Q: How many times can I access Best Doctors services?

	A: members can access Best Doctors services for an unlimited number of listed medical conditions. Best Doctors services are provided as often as the member wants, for life, as long as they remain a Best Doctors member.

	Q: Since the Best Doctors Service is renewable annually will Best Doctors notify me of the renewal?

	A: No. The renewal will be automatic. If you wish to cancel your membership, you should contact Best Doctors through the toll-free number.

	Q: How can I pay for the Best Doctors Service?

	A: There are three ways to pay for the Best Doctors Service: monthly by pre-authorized payment only, or annually by either cheque or pre-authorized payment or credit card. Best Doctors will notify you of the withdrawl on the annual pre-authorized payment method only.

Step 1 - Fill Out an Application Form

Download a Form

Application Form

Step 2 - Send it to:


	McGill Health Services

	Fax		416-850-3060, along with credit card information or a void cheque.

	Mail		1 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 303 Toronto, Ontario, M4V 1K7, along with credit card information or a void cheque.

Best Doctors was founded in 1989 by two Harvard Medical School professors who believed that patients shouldn’t have to leave their own doctors or own healthcare systems to confirm the right diagnosis and right treatment options for complex medical conditions.

Today Best Doctors operates in 30 countries and through their global network of 50,000 top specialists, provides access to the best medical knowledge to over 10 million people worldwide when they are faced with a serious medical condition. Over the past 20 years, Best Doctors has completed tens of thousands of case reviews and has changed a diagnosis 22% of the time, modified treatment plans 61% of the time and reduced invasive procedures by 67%.

When You Need To Be Absolutely Sure

Through access to top-ranked hospitals, the latest technologies and opinions of world-class specialists, Best Doctors can help your clients make informed decisions about their healthcare when it matters most.

Best Doctors Reputation

At Best Doctors, we are proud of our reputation for quality and independence. Our unique story, consumer focus, unrivaled medical expertise, and uncompromising integrity have brought us an unprecedented level of attention from the media around the world.

"All advisors should offer Best Doctors services to their clients."
- Financial Adviser Protection Extra (UK)

Best Doctors: "It's changing the face of American medicine"
- CBS "60 Minutes"

"The leading referral service in the country."
-CNN, "Headline News"

"…but the real jewel in the crown is called Best Doctors. This feature provides information and access when the clients need it most, and it could be the difference between coping and recovering."
- Money Marketing Magazine (UK)

	Q: What is Best Doctors?

	A: Best Doctors® connects seriously ill Canadians and their treating physicians with world renowned specialists to confirm the right diagnosis and the right treatment options – without having to leave home. Using its global network of over 50,000 world renowned peer-nominated specialists, Best Doctors provides access to the best medical knowledge to millions of people around the world when they are faced with a serious medical condition.

	Q: How does the Best Doctors service work?

	A: If a patient is uncertain of a diagnosis or has questions about their treatment plan they may contact Best Doctors. One call sets it all in motion. The Best Doctors member simply picks up the phone and dials our toll free number and they will be connected to a Member Advocate, a Registered Nurse, who will determine the level of service the member requires. The Member Advocate will be dedicated to the member’s case and will support them throughout the process. The Member Advocate will interview the member to collect a detailed medical history and to document the member’s questions. This same Member Advocate stays with the member throughout their entire interaction with Best Doctors. The member is asked to sign a release, permitting Best Doctors to work with the member’s treating doctors and facilities to collect all of the pertinent medical information in the member’s case. This includes medical records, imaging studies, test results, treatment plans, surgical reports, or whatever else is available. If pathology specimens have been taken, we collect these as well to re-stain and re-analyze them at a Centre of Excellence. The entire InterConsultation™ process is completed without the member ever having to leave home. Once the medical records have been collected, a multidisciplinary team of Harvard-trained physicians review the material in rigorous detail. This team is tasked with: identifying the important issues in the case; distilling the specifics of the case into a detailed Clinical Summary; generating specific questions about the key issues in the case; and recommending the particular specialty and experience of the Best Doctors specialist required to consult on the case. Best Doctors then searches its proprietary global network of 50,000 world renowned peer-nominated physicians to identify a physician best suited to review the case. The physicians in the Best Doctors network have been identified by their peers as being the “best” in their specialty areas. The Best Doctors expert(s) retained for the case performs a thorough analysis and answers the questions posed, writing up a report of their findings and recommendations. The entire package is sent to the member and their treating physician. The Member Advocate follows up with the member to explain the findings of the report and if appropriate, the Best Doctors physician speaks directly with the member’s treating physician. The InterConsultation Report serves as a clinical roadmap tailored to the member’s individual case. The Member Advocate is always available to the member even after treatment decisions are made and to address any new issues that may arise in the course of treatment. The Best Doctors Member Advocate regularly checks in with members at major milestones to determine how the member’s care is progressing. Additional InterConsultations may be initiated if there are changes in the member’s medical condition or a new unrelated illness presents itself. The goal is to work collaboratively with the member’s treating physician – to provide additional resources and the uniquely educative interaction with top specialists that may not otherwise be available to them.

	Q: Does Best Doctors retest all pathology?

	A: The key value proposition of Best Doctors is that it delivers certainty to members facing uncertainty about their medical conditions. Rather than providing just another “opinion,” Best Doctors delivers a complete and methodical understanding of a member’s medical condition giving actionable and educative information to both the Best Doctors member and their treating physician – all without the Best Doctors member ever having to leave home. In addition to reviewing all of the member’s medical files and diagnostic tests, Best Doctors retests pathology at a Centre of Excellence – University Health Network, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center – by expert pathologists, using the latest staining techniques. Due to the subjectivity of the pathology tests, the accuracy of these tests hinges on how much experience that pathologist and lab has with them. The pathologists at the Centres of Excellence Best Doctors uses to retest pathology, have had the opportunity to review complex cases on regular basis – in fact they are renowned for reviewing some of the most complex cases in the world. By essentially deconstructing and reconstructing a member’s diagnosis, the Best Doctors service is recognized as providing substantial improvements in the quality – and cost – of care, as well as providing high levels of member satisfaction.

	Q: Is Best Doctors service necessary or is this just manufacturing a perceived need?

	A: Over the past 20 years Best Doctors has completed tens of thousands of InterConsultations. The results speak for themselves: Best Doctors has changed a diagnosis 22% of the time, modified treatment 61% of the time, and reduced invasive procedures by 67%. The aim is to ensure right diagnosis and best treatment recommendations, while avoiding or reducing invasive procedures and unnecessary treatments – ultimately leading to improved recovery times and outcomes. Once the diagnosis and treatment are confirmed, the treating physician and Best Doctors member can then work together to choose the most appropriate next steps.

	Q: Who pays any additional related expenses?

	A: A majority of Best Doctors services involves the InterConsultation with top experts around the world who review the case and provide support and resources to the patient and doctors and that may not be available to them locally. The goal is work with the attending physician so that the patient does not have to leave home. If a member decides to travel outside of Canada for treatment, the expenses related to the services are the responsibility of the member. Some costs may be partially funded by provincial health plans if the institution is within the member’s province or within Canada. Canadian specialist referrals are required to go through the member’s treating physician.

	Q: Do public health care plans pay for treatments recommended by Best Doctors?

	A: Best Doctors only recommends courses of treatment. The Best Doctors member and their treating physician make the final decisions about treatment based on the recommendations and information provided to them by Best Doctors. In most cases, the costs are covered through the public health care plan.

	Q: Can Best Doctors arrange for an individual to “jump the queue”?

	A: Best Doctors does not own or operate private health care clinics. We call upon our world renowned, peer-nominated specialists to provide their expertise through our InterConsultation service. Best Doctors services are very affordable and are typically offered as an employee benefit, with the employee paying nothing. Today, about 30% of healthcare costs are private, paid through insurance carriers and employer programs (ie: Health and Dental Insurance) – Best Doctors coverage is no different in that respect. Best Doctors members do not have to leave home to use our services. Best Doctors Canada works within the Canadian healthcare system and has no leverage to help our members jump the queue. Instead, our services are designed to ensure our members are in the correct queue.

	Q: Is Best Doctors a Private Health Care?

	A: No. There are many benefits that exist out there to help employees from Dental Insurance, Medicine Insurance, Long Term Disability to Group Critical Illness. Best Doctors is a service that is part of a group employee insurance plan, a stand-alone employee benefit or through individual and family coverage policies. The service connects members and their treating physician with top specialists around the world if they are uncertain of a diagnosis or have questions about treatment options.

	Q: Who decides who is a Best Doctor?

	A: Simply, their medical peers recommend them. Only current Best Doctors receive our survey to nominate and vote for Best Doctors. Our survey asks one simple question, replicating the way that doctors find the best care for themselves and their families: “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, whom would you choose?” Physicians are then screened for licensure, certification and disciplinary actions. To ensure the integrity of our database, we initiate the process every 18 months. Over the past 20 years, the global network of Best Doctors has grown to 50,000 specialists, including almost 2,000 Canadian physicians. Best Doctors does not provide, nor accept fees for the privilege of inclusion in the database. Physicians can only be accepted into the database through a peer-reviewed nomination poll.

	Q: Specialists outside Canada are included on the Best Doctors network. Does this mean that Best Doctors is driving patients to the United States or elsewhere in the world?

	A: The advantage of the Best Doctors network is that is it is global – top specialists from around the world have been recognized. And, since the Best Doctors member does not ever have to leave home, a Best Doctor expert can be identified from anywhere in the world to complete an InterConsultation. In fact, almost all cases are treated and resolved locally or at least in the member’s home province. But in certain exceptional cases, the patient and physician in Canada may decide that it’s in the patient’s best interest to seek medical care outside the province or outside Canada.

	Q: How long have Best Doctors services been available in Canada?

	A: Best Doctors has been servicing the marketplace for more than 20 years and opened the Canadian office in 1998.

	Q: How many Canadians currently have Best Doctors service available to them?

	A: Almost 5,000,000 Canadians have Best Doctors coverage either through a critical illness policy, or a group benefits plan, or as a stand-alone employee benefit, or on an individual basis.

	Q: Does an illness or condition have to be life threatening to consult Best Doctors?

	A: When members call in, Best Doctors will help determine the level of service the member needs. In some cases an InterConsultation may not be required and we can answer the member’s concern through one of the other services such as Best Doctors 360°™ which delivers information that is individually tailored to meet the needs of each Best Doctors members. Through this unique program the Best Doctors Member Advocate provides access to resources, ongoing one-on-one support, customized health coaching and a wide range of health related information so the member can take control of their own healthcare. Our other services include FindBestDoc™ and FindBestCare®. If a referral for specialist care is needed, our FindBestDoc service is available. The FindBestDoc service helps a member find a specialist and will arrange referrals, appointments and accommodations if out-of-town travel is required. (Access to a Canadian specialist requires a referral from the member’s treating physician.) While we strive to work within the Canadian healthcare system, Best Doctors will access hospital and doctor discounts if out-of-country care is necessary through our FindBestCare service. Best Doctors will ensure that vital information is sent to the medical specialists involved. Expenses relating to FindBestDoc and FindBestCare services are the responsibility of the member.