Second opinions

Mayo Clinic's Remote and eConsult Second Opinion, Reviewed

The phrase covers two different things. Mayo's documented remote model is the Care Network eConsult and eBoard, a consultation between your physician and a Mayo specialist that is logged in your record. A second opinion you purchase yourself is what other teaching hospitals offer. This review sorts out which is which, what the evidence says a specialist re-read changes, and how to get your records ready for either path.

Last updated: July 2026

Talk to a clinician

Gale can help you find a clinician in your state and request a visit.

Find care →

Continue in Claude

Open a chat with this article’s link already in the message, and keep asking questions there. Claude reads the article and its sources; nothing about you is included.

Continue in Claude →

The button opens the Claude desktop app and fills in the message for you to review before sending. No desktop app, or reading on a phone? Copy the prompt and paste it into any AI.

What people mean by a Mayo Clinic online second opinion

There are two different things behind that search, and telling them apart matters. The remote service Mayo Clinic publicly documents is the Mayo Clinic Care Network: through it, physicians at a member organization can obtain electronic input (an eConsult) or multidisciplinary video-conference input (an eBoard or eTumor Board) from Mayo specialists, documented in the patient's record at no additional patient cost 1Ref 1Mayo Clinic (2025).Mayo Clinic Care Network — Solutions and services (eConsults and eBoards).Cited for the Mayo Clinic Care Network model: member-organization physicians obtain eConsult and eBoard input from Mayo specialists, documented in the patient's record at no additional patient cost, as provider-to-provider consultation rather than a patient-purchased second opinion.. That is a consultation between doctors — your physician asks, a Mayo specialist answers. It is not a product you sign up for and buy on your own. The Mayo remote model in the record is a doctor-to-doctor consult routed through your physician, not a second opinion you purchase directly. If what you want is a review you commission yourself, that exists too, but at other centers and under a different arrangement.

How the Mayo Care Network eConsult and eBoard work

The mechanics run through your own care team. If your doctor's practice belongs to the Care Network, they can send your case to Mayo for an eConsult — a written specialist opinion — or bring it to an eBoard, where a Mayo multidisciplinary group discusses it over video. The response comes back to your physician and is documented in your record, and there is no additional charge to you for the specialist input 1Ref 1Mayo Clinic (2025).Mayo Clinic Care Network — Solutions and services (eConsults and eBoards).Cited for the Mayo Clinic Care Network model: member-organization physicians obtain eConsult and eBoard input from Mayo specialists, documented in the patient's record at no additional patient cost, as provider-to-provider consultation rather than a patient-purchased second opinion.. The practical consequence is that you do not apply as a patient. You ask your doctor whether their organization is a member and whether your question is a good fit for a remote specialist consult. Teleconsultation second opinion arrangements like this keep your local doctor in charge while adding an expert voice to the discussion, which suits cases where the relationship with your own team should continue uninterrupted.

If you want a review you buy yourself

When people picture an online second opinion, many are picturing the direct-to-patient version: you pay a hospital, send your records, and receive a written specialist opinion without going through your own doctor. That model is well documented at other academic centers. Cleveland Clinic's virtual second-opinion service, for instance, has specialists review a patient's submitted records and return a written report, optionally with a virtual visit, across a broad range of conditions 2Ref 2Cleveland Clinic (2025).Virtual Second Opinions.Cited as the documented example of the direct-to-patient remote second-opinion model: specialists review a patient's submitted records and return a written report, optionally with a virtual visit, across a broad range of conditions.. Mayo's Care Network route and a purchased review answer the same underlying question — is this diagnosis and plan right? — but they reach it differently, and only one of them is something you can start on your own. It is worth seeing remote second opinion programs laid out together before deciding which path fits, because the right choice depends on whether your own doctor can carry the request for you.

What specialist re-review actually changes

The evidence for a fresh expert read is strongest where diagnosis is genuinely hard. When a Mayo Clinic general internal medicine service re-examined 286 referred patients, 21% received a diagnosis distinctly different from the referral diagnosis, 66% had it refined or better defined, and only 12% matched exactly 3Ref 3Van Such M, Lohr R, Beckman T, Naessens JM (2017).Extent of diagnostic agreement among medical referrals.Cited for the Mayo general internal medicine finding that 21% of referral diagnoses were distinctly different, 66% were refined, and only 12% matched exactly on specialist re-examination.. A study of 173 internal-medicine second opinions found a new diagnosis in 13% of patients but a new treatment in 56% — the plan shifted far more often than the name of the condition 4Ref 4Burger PM, Westerink J, Vrijsen BEL (2020).Outcomes of second opinions in general internal medicine.Cited for the finding that a new treatment was started in 56% of internal-medicine second opinions while only 13% produced a new diagnosis.. Re-reading images matters too: subspecialists re-reviewing 240 outside PET-CT scans disagreed about cancer in 13% of cases, and where the truth was later known, the subspecialist read was correct in 89% 5Ref 5Ulaner GA, Mannelli L, Dunphy M (2017).Value of second-opinion review of outside institution PET-CT examinations.Cited for the finding that subspecialist re-review of 240 outside PET-CT scans produced a discordant opinion of malignancy in 13%, and was correct in 89% of the cases where the truth was later known.. None of this means first opinions are usually wrong. It means a second set of expert eyes frequently sharpens the plan, most often on the treatment side rather than the label.

Getting your records ready either way

Both paths depend on a complete record, and assembling it is the step people underestimate. You will want clinic notes, the pathology report and slides, lab results, and the actual imaging files rather than a written summary. Government patient guidance states plainly that a second opinion is your right, that most doctors are willing to help arrange one, and that you should bring or transfer copies of your records, imaging, and scans 6Ref 6MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NIH) (2024).Your cancer diagnosis - Do you need a second opinion?.Cited for the patient's right to a second opinion, that most doctors help arrange one, and the practical step of transferring copies of records, imaging, and scans.. For the Care Network route, your doctor already holds much of this. For a purchased review, you assemble and send it yourself. Either way, gathering everything before the review begins is what keeps it from stalling for weeks while paperwork moves between offices.

What to confirm before you count on Mayo

Start with one question to your own physician: is your practice a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, and is my case a fit for an eConsult or eBoard? If the answer is no, the Mayo remote route may not be open to you, and a purchased review elsewhere becomes the realistic option. Confirm what any service documents in your record, whether there is a patient charge, and how long it takes. If you are comparing hospitals, the mass general brigham second opinion and the cleveland clinic myconsult are two of the patient-facing programs people weigh against one another, alongside a broader set of remote programs compared in one place.

Common questions

The remote service Mayo publicly documents is the Care Network eConsult and eBoard, which runs through your own doctor rather than as a direct patient purchase. Whether Mayo offers a patient-initiated online review, and for which conditions, is worth confirming with Mayo directly, because programs and eligibility change. If your goal is a review you start yourself, other centers openly offer that model.

Mayo documents the eConsult and eBoard as provider-to-provider input delivered at no additional patient cost, meaning the specialist consultation itself is not billed to you separately. Your usual visit and care with your own doctor still apply. Because billing can change and vary by organization, confirm with your physician's practice what, if anything, reaches your bill.

An eConsult or eBoard is a remote consultation about your case between your doctor and Mayo specialists; you are not traveling or being examined. A traditional appointment means going to Mayo as a patient. The remote route is faster and keeps your local team in charge, but if a hands-on evaluation is needed, an in-person visit may still be recommended.

In effect, yes. Because it runs through your physician, your doctor initiates it, so the practical first step is asking whether their organization is a Care Network member and whether your question suits a remote consult. You cannot enroll yourself. If your practice is not a member, a purchased second opinion at another center is the alternative.

For questions that turn on records, imaging, and pathology, a remote specialist review examines the same material an in-person visit would and often reaches the same conclusion. The exception is any problem where a physical examination changes the answer. When that is the case, the reviewing team will usually say so and suggest an in-person evaluation.

Second opinions
Cleveland Clinic MyConsult Second Opinion, Reviewed
Second opinions
MD Anderson's Remote Cancer Second Opinion, Reviewed
Second opinions
Johns Hopkins Remote Second Opinion, Reviewed

Say it back

How would you explain this to someone you love?

Two or three sentences, just as you’d say it. Gale reflects back what you focused on — a mirror, not a quiz.

Talk to a clinician

Gale can help you find a clinician in your state and request a visit.

Find care →

Remote review is not for an emergency

—Chest pain or pressure, or sudden severe shortness of breath, while a consult is pending
—Sudden one-sided weakness, facial droop, or slurred speech
—Coughing up or vomiting blood, or black, tarry stools
—Any symptom your treating team flagged as a reason to seek care immediately

An eConsult or a purchased review is for planning; for sudden, severe symptoms like these, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room instead of waiting for a response.

This article explains how Mayo's documented remote consultation model and patient-facing second-opinion programs generally work. It is educational, not medical advice, and does not endorse or rank any program; confirm current eligibility, cost, and process directly with the program or your physician.

References

1.Mayo Clinic (2025). Mayo Clinic Care Network — Solutions and services (eConsults and eBoards). MayoClinic.org. linkCited for the Mayo Clinic Care Network model: member-organization physicians obtain eConsult and eBoard input from Mayo specialists, documented in the patient's record at no additional patient cost, as provider-to-provider consultation rather than a patient-purchased second opinion.
2.Cleveland Clinic (2025). Virtual Second Opinions. Cleveland Clinic (my.clevelandclinic.org). link ✓Cited as the documented example of the direct-to-patient remote second-opinion model: specialists review a patient's submitted records and return a written report, optionally with a virtual visit, across a broad range of conditions.
3.Van Such M, Lohr R, Beckman T, Naessens JM (2017). Extent of diagnostic agreement among medical referrals. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. doi:10.1111/jep.12747 ✓Cited for the Mayo general internal medicine finding that 21% of referral diagnoses were distinctly different, 66% were refined, and only 12% matched exactly on specialist re-examination.
4.Burger PM, Westerink J, Vrijsen BEL (2020). Outcomes of second opinions in general internal medicine. PLOS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0236048 ✓Cited for the finding that a new treatment was started in 56% of internal-medicine second opinions while only 13% produced a new diagnosis.
5.Ulaner GA, Mannelli L, Dunphy M (2017). Value of second-opinion review of outside institution PET-CT examinations. Nuclear Medicine Communications. doi:10.1097/MNM.0000000000000647 ✓Cited for the finding that subspecialist re-review of 240 outside PET-CT scans produced a discordant opinion of malignancy in 13%, and was correct in 89% of the cases where the truth was later known.
6.MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NIH) (2024). Your cancer diagnosis - Do you need a second opinion?. MedlinePlus (medlineplus.gov). link ✓Cited for the patient's right to a second opinion, that most doctors help arrange one, and the practical step of transferring copies of records, imaging, and scans.

6 sources, numbered by first appearance. General health information, not medical advice. AI-assisted editorial content — citations link their sources. Editorial policy

← Back to the health library