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Second Opinion Program Aims to Improve Cancer Care

From Angela Mass, writing for AIS's Health Business Daily:
"Recognizing the importance of getting an accurate cancer diagnosis from the beginning, a handful of companies are taking advantage of a program that gives a second opinion to people who have a cancer diagnosis. Offered through Partners HealthCare System, Inc.’s Center for Connected Health, Partners Online Specialty Consultations is a website that offers second opinions from specialists at a Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospital."
Supermarket chain Hannaford Bros. Co is an early client, motivated, in part, by discovering that local physicians were following National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines only 30% of the time.

According to Bill Sullivan, principal consultant for Specialty Pharmacy Solutions LLC,
“...There is a direct corollary with cost containment (e.g., not wasting dollars on an ineffective protocol). Patients would be better served by being prescribed the presumed most efficacious protocol for their tumor type and minimizing disease progression associated with trial and error, which is often the case.”
The right care is truly the best care. And it's another interesting example of an influential healthcare brand reaching new markets in new ways.

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