The Cleveland Clinic launches online service

The online service extends the Clinic's existing patient services and partnership with physicians in the region and helps support the growing needs of patients across the Middle East. This service will give patients with life-threatening and life-altering diagnoses access to confidential consultations provided by Cleveland Clinic physicians in the United States via the Internet.

"Some of the best doctors in the world practice in the Middle East, but often patients want to seek a second expert medical opinion, particularly for potentially serious conditions," said Dr. Delos Cosgrove, CEO and President of The Cleveland Clinic.

"Our online service increases the ease with which patients and their physicians can access medical opinions from doctors at one of America's most respected academic medical institutions. Patients and their physicians can have the peace of mind that these online requests are processed and fulfilled according to the high standards set by The Cleveland Clinic."

With e-Cleveland Clinic, patients across the Middle East region and around the world can seek specialized second medical opinions for more than 600 life-threatening or life-altering diagnoses. The second opinions are rendered by Cleveland Clinic physicians specialising in each diagnoses. They can provide patients with the information they need to make important treatment choices. Using the online service can be quite fast and detailed second opinions are typically given within five to seven working days.

Online registration for patients who use e-Cleveland Clinic takes between 30-45 minutes, eliminating the time delays often associated with waiting for an appointment. After submittal of all the necessary records by a patient or their physician, a specialist at the Clinic creates a permanent record for the patient and reviews all materials. The process ensures that patients have the same level of privacy, quality and service as those patients who travel to The Cleveland Clinic directly. A registered nurse coordinates the online service and patients are able to stay in touch with a staff member at The Cleveland Clinic at all times. Patients are asked to complete a general and disease specific questionnaire online and send films or studies via registered mail. Assistance is available every step of the way to ensure patient satisfaction and quality service.

e-Cleveland Clinic provides patients with three different online services, depending on individual requirements which are available 24 hours a day.

• MyChart -A service, which provides patients with remote medical second opinions, nutrition consultations, remote cardiology film second opinions, pre-adoption evaluations and pre-surgery evaluations.

• Dr.Connect - A service developed to provide physicians who refer patients to The Cleveland Clinic the means to access information about their patients' treatment progress. Dr.Connect provides registered physician users and identified office staff with proxy rights and immediate access to the electronic medical records information pertaining to patient visits and results of treatment patients receive from The Cleveland Clinic.

e-Cleveland Clinic utilises state-of-the-art digital information systems to eliminate geographic barriers and deliver a variety of quality e-health services. The Cleveland Clinic's main Internet site and its departmental sites have won many awards including several eHealthcare Leadership Awards in the United States in 2004 and 2005. Similar to other programs at The Cleveland Clinic, e-Cleveland Clinic builds upon the Clinic's foundation of a comprehensive, electronic medical record system that enhances care quality and patient safety.

e-Cleveland provides a range of benefits to both patients and their employers. For patients, the online service provides a convenient way to receive a second opinion at a competitive price. Traveling expenses and lost work time are eliminated, therefore reducing the time and confusion associated with locating the appropriate physicians and scheduling the necessary appointment. This, in turn, can provide real benefits to employers in the form of reduced employee 'down-time' and medical expenses.