• Logout

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is WorldCare?
• What is a Second Opinion through WorldCare?
• When and why is an illness designated as serious?
• What conditions are covered with a Health Service Navigator membership?
• Who are the doctors who provide WorldCare Second Opinions?
• What are the benefits of receiving a Second Opinion for an illness?
• Which hospitals provide Second Opinions through WorldCare?
• How do I start? What do I need to give to WorldCare to get a Second Opinion?
• Do the WorldCare Case Managers have special qualifications to be coordinating this process for me?
• Why is WorldCare's process for obtaining a Second Opinion so rigorous and detailed?
• When will I receive my Second Opinion?
• How can WorldCare provide a WorldCare Second Opinion within four business days when patients can't even get appointments with specialists that quickly?
• What happens if the Second Opinion from the WorldCare hospital is significantly different from my initial opinion, in terms of diagnosis or treatment?
• What are my costs associated with getting a Second Opinion from WorldCare?
• How important is it to have access to a WorldCare Second Opinion?
• Why does WorldCare work with the top teaching and research hospitals and not with specific doctors?
• What happens to my medical file after I receive a WorldCare Second Opinion?
• What should I do once I get my Second Opinion Package?
• How does WorldCare protect my private information?
• How does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protect my privacy?

Q: What is WorldCare?

A: WorldCare is a company with operations in over 34 countries worldwide, including the United States and Canada that provides Second Opinion services through major teaching hospitals in the United States. WorldCare's mission is to improve the health of all people by giving affordable, timely access to quality health care services through a global network. A leader in the field of global e-Health services, WorldCare offers highly specialized second medical opinions from the best medical centers in North America to local doctors for their patients. Over the past 12 years, WorldCare has handled over 16,000 Second Opinion studies worldwide.

Q: What is a Second Opinion through WorldCare?

A: A second opinion through WorldCare is a unique service that provides you access to advice from specialists at top North American hospitals, if you are diagnosed with a serious illness. With this service, your medical records are sent through secure means to a team of expert doctors. These experts review your medical records and provide you with a custom-made report, confirming the diagnosis and suggesting the best treatment for your case. The report is sent back to you and your doctor, along with additional material to tell you about your medical condition and suggest next steps.

Q: When and why is an illness designated as serious?

A: Illnesses that require experts from several medical fields for the correct diagnosis and best treatment plan are defined as 'serious.'

Q: What conditions are covered with a Health Service Navigator membership?

A: Your Health Service Navigator provides second opinion service coverage for a large number of conditions and treatments, which include:

AIDS Alzheimer's disease Amputation Any life threatening illness Benign brain tumor Cancer Cardiovascular conditions Chronic pelvic pain Coma Deafness Emphysema Hip and knee replacement Loss of speech

Major burns Major organ transplants Major trauma Multiple sclerosis Neuro-degenerative diseases Paralysis Parkinson's disease Renal insufficiency or kidney failure Rheumatoid arthritis Stroke Sudden blindness due to sickness Thrombophlebitis and embolism

For more information on covered conditions, or to find out if a particular condition is covered for a second opinion, please call 1-800-875-1264.

Q: Who are the doctors who provide WorldCare Second Opinions?

A: All second opinions provided by WorldCare are given by leading doctors at top teaching and research hospitals. Internists, surgeons, pathologists, radiologists and other experts bring different backgrounds and experience to each case. With a second opinion through WorldCare, one or more members of a team of doctors selected for the special needs of your situation work on the case. For example, a plan member who is diagnosed with cancer may get a report that uses an oncologist, radiologist, pathologist, radiotherapist, and surgeon. This team approach is unique to the second opinion service through WorldCare.

Q: What are the benefits of receiving a Second Opinion for an illness?

A: A second opinion can help with both your diagnosis and treatment. Treatments for serious illnesses are always being improved. The WorldCare Consortium^SM hospitals are world leaders in medicine. So the doctors who review your case may be able to modify the treatment plan, or confirm that your current plans are best for your care, based on the latest information and research available.

Q: Which hospitals provide Second Opinions through WorldCare?

A: The hospitals in the WorldCare network are some of the top academic medical centers in North America. They are committed to the best patient care and medical services. This network of hospitals, known as the WorldCare Consortium^SM, includes:

• Children's Hospital Boston in Boston, Massachusetts
• Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina
• Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida
• Partners HealthCare System, Inc., in Boston, Massachusetts, which includes:
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital
  • Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare
• UCLA Healthcare in Los Angeles, California.

Together, these hospitals represent over 11,000 doctors, and receive over 1.6 billion dollars in annual research funding.

Q: How do I start? What do I need to give to WorldCare to get a Second Opinion?

A: Follow these steps to get a second opinion through WorldCare:

1. Call Manulife's Health Service Navigator toll-free at 1-800-875-1264. Have your Manulife group and plan certificate numbers ready to provide the representative.
2. Once you request a second opinion through the representative, you will receive a Patient Toolkit. This includes a Patient Request Form, a Physician Request Form and information on the second opinion process.
3. Complete and sign the Patient Request Form. This form allows WorldCare to handle your medical information and to get your medical records from your doctor.
4. Complete Section 1 of the Physician Request Form and return it to WorldCare at the address, fax number or e-mail address provided on the form.
5. Once you complete and return the forms by mail or fax to WorldCare, a WorldCare Case Manager will work with you to start the Second Opinion process.
6. WorldCare will arrange to get the following information from your doctor before we can send your case to the consulting experts at our hospitals:
   • A detailed medical history provided by your doctor (including dates of illnesses, surgeries, description of chronic problems, allergies, etc).
   • Relevant family history.
   • Detailed history of the present illness, including the current treatment plan.
   • Current complete physical exam.
   • Current habits (food, alcohol, smoking, drug use, exercise patterns).
   • List of current medications with generic names.
   • Supporting imaging (radiology) studies (less than 3 months old) with reports.
   • Supporting laboratory studies (pathology, blood tests, etc.) with reports.
   • Copies of all other supporting studies and reports, EKGs, EEGs, etc.
   • Questions from your doctor about your case, to be answered by the consulting doctor(s).
   • Questions from you about your case, to be answered by the consulting doctor(s).
   • Certain conditions may require more information, which a WorldCare Case Manager will discuss with you once your Patient Request Form is received.
7. When all the medical information is received, the WorldCare Case Manager checks it to ensure that it's complete.
8. The case is then sent to the most appropriate hospital to produce the report.
9. Once a completed second opinion report arrives from the institution, it is reviewed by the WorldCare Case Manager. It is then forwarded to your doctor, and a complete Second Opinion Package is sent to you. This includes the Consultation Report, along with materials providing additional information about your medical condition and suggested next steps.

Q: Do the WorldCare Case Managers have special qualifications to be coordinating this process for me?

A: All WorldCare Case Managers are trained to handle private medical information and to prepare a medical file for submission to a WorldCare Consortium^SM hospital for the second opinion. Their training includes quality control procedures and protecting member privacy, with all case preparation supervised by a registered nurse. WorldCare also has two physicians on staff as Medical Directors to oversee the case management process.

Q: Why is WorldCare's process for obtaining a Second Opinion so rigorous and detailed?

A: The detailed medical records required by WorldCare provide additional assurance for you. To maintain the quality of your final report, we must provide the experts your complete information. WorldCare cannot send a case to the hospital unless we have all of the required medical information. Your WorldCare Case Manager will tell you if any additional information is needed by the consulting doctors. The WorldCare Second Opinion process is similar to what happens when a patient with a serious illness visits one of the WorldCare Consortium^SMhospitals. They are committed to our patients worldwide, and must be sure that they thoroughly examine all of your medical records. WorldCare is responsible for the quality of the entire process, and our medical staff focus on giving you the best service possible.

Q: When will I receive my Second Opinion?

A: Once we get the complete medical records, we do our best to return the report to both you and your doctor within four business days. Certain cases involving pathology, translation, or multiple Second Opinions from different hospitals, may take longer. Your WorldCare Case Manager will keep you informed on the status of your case.

Q: How can WorldCare provide a WorldCare Second Opinion within four business days when patients can't even get appointments with specialists that quickly?

A: WorldCare and the hospitals within our network are committed to a prompt response time. The doctors in the network share this commitment, and make WorldCare cases a priority. This response time is made possible with WorldCare's technology network, which connects the WorldCare team with the doctors at the WorldCare Consortium ^SM hospitals.

Q: What happens if the Second Opinion from the WorldCare hospital is significantly different from my initial opinion, in terms of diagnosis or treatment?

A: In this situation, the case will be sent to another hospital for evaluation by other expert doctor(s) - this is called a 'Multi-institutional second opinion,' a service unique to WorldCare. Both you and your doctor will then receive two independent reports from the two medical centers.

Q: What are my costs associated with getting a Second Opinion from WorldCare?

A: WorldCare covers all the costs of shipping your medical records from your doctor's office to WorldCare, and for digitizing and transmitting these records to the WorldCare Consortium^SM hospital. WorldCare then arranges for the doctors at the WorldCare Consortium^SM hospital to create the second opinion report and sends the Second Opinion Package to both you and your doctor, at no expense to you.

Q: How important is it to have access to a WorldCare Second Opinion?

A: Medicine is more complex, and changing faster, than ever before. With so many new advances, it's impossible for any one doctor to stay on top of it all. That is why this service is more important than ever. The American Cancer Society and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommend second opinions for everyone newly diagnosed with cancer. A study of members who received WorldCare Second Opinions found that 15% of WorldCare Second Opinions resulted in a change in diagnosis while 70% advised revisions to the treatment plan. Other studies have shown similar changes.

Q: Why does WorldCare work with the top teaching and research hospitals and not with specific doctors?

A: WorldCare has a long-term alliance with its hospitals. They are committed to processing these second opinions. Most second opinions through WorldCare are prepared by doctors who work together in the same center. The doctors on the team offer different types of expertise for the case. This provides WorldCare members with a thorough medical review, diagnosis and treatment advice. Each report is held to the high standards of the hospital at which it is created.

Q: What happens to my medical file after I receive a WorldCare Second Opinion?

A: Your medical records and your WorldCare Second Opinion Package are stored digitally at WorldCare to aid in follow-up and future services. WorldCare will try to send cases that need follow-up to the same doctor(s) who first reviewed the case. This makes it easier for the doctor(s) to compare your condition with your previous Second Opinion and examine any changes.

Q: What should I do once I get my Second Opinion Package?

A: We urge you to contact your doctor, who will also receive the report. Your second opinion package will be written 'doctor to doctor' and may include complex language that your own doctor will be able to explain. Your doctor knows you best, and together, you can decide how your Second Opinion Package impacts your care.

Q: How does WorldCare protect my private information?

A: Your privacy is important to us at WorldCare, and because of this we have taken strict confidentiality measures. None of the information you give to WorldCare to be used for a second opinion will be shared with a third party, without your written consent. The Patient Consent Form required for WorldCare to provide you with a second opinion gives WorldCare permission to use your medical information only for your second opinion. This consent may be withdrawn by you at any time. As well, WorldCare will never sell your personal information to a third party. All personal health information submitted to WorldCare is sent using secure methods, and all records are immediately stored in a secure database. WorldCare's information processes and procedures are compliant with the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and treats all your personal and medical information as confidential. More specific details regarding how and why WorldCare collects, uses, maintains, and discloses your personal health information can be found here at WorldCare's Privacy Policy on their website or from your WorldCare Case Manager.

Q: How does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protect my privacy?

A: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the 'Privacy Rule' to implement the requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ('HIPAA'), which was enacted on August 21, 1996. The Privacy Rule establishes, for the first time, a set of national standards for the protection of certain health information. The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals' health information-called 'protected health information' by organizations subject to the Privacy Rule - called 'covered entities,' as well as standards for individuals' privacy rights to understand and control how their health information is used.

A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to insure that individuals' health information is properly protected while still allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public's health and well being. A major purpose of the Privacy Rule is to define and limit the circumstances in which an individual's protected heath information may be used or disclosed by covered entities. A covered entity may not use or disclose protected health information, except either: (1) as the Privacy Rule permits or requires; or (2) as the individual who is the subject of the information (or the individual's personal representative) authorizes in writing.

For more information on HIPAA, visit the website of the United States Department of Health and Human Services at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/.