Topic hub
Second opinions, and how facilitation actually works
Most cases here start with a question rather than a journey: is the treatment I have been advised the right one, and what would an independent specialist say about my file? These guides cover what a written second opinion does and does not do, what to send, and what the report contains. They also cover the money question every patient should ask any facilitator: who pays you? Ours is answered in public, with a published fee schedule.
What a second opinion settles
Whether the advised treatment is in line with accepted practice, what the alternatives are (including doing nothing yet), and which questions are worth putting to your own doctor. It is a written document addressed to you and meant to be shared with your treating team, never a replacement for them.
What it costs, and what it is credited against
A remote consultation is $50 and a written second opinion is $150; each is credited in full against the next step, so nobody pays twice for moving forward. The full schedule, including the refund rules, is on the Fees page.
Who pays the person advising you
A facilitator that is free to you is being paid by someone else, usually a commission from the hospital you are sent to. We take no commissions from hospitals. Our fees are paid by you, published upfront, and itemized separately from your hospital bill. These guides explain how the alternative model works so you can weigh the two for yourself.
17 guides in this topic
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Canadian Provincial Plans and Treatment Abroad
What provincial plans pay for planned treatment abroad, how OHIP and AHCIP handle it out of country, and how to check your own coverage before you decide.
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How to Fund Treatment Abroad: Scheme Ceilings
A scheme ceiling turns cover into a contribution. How to size the real gap with itemized quotes, fund the difference openly, and pay the hospital directly.
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Medicare and Private Insurance Gaps in Australia
What Medicare pays for elective surgery, where private health insurance gaps and excesses appear, and why planned treatment abroad sits outside both.
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UK Private Treatment vs NHS Wait vs India
Three routes to an elective operation from the UK: the NHS wait, paying privately at home, or treatment in India — how each works and what to check.
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When the Treatment Isn't Available at Home
When treatment is not available at home — no local programme, a funding ceiling, or no specialist to treat you — what travelling to India actually involves.
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When Your US Insurance Won't Cover Surgery Abroad
How US health plans treat planned surgery abroad, what a high deductible means for an elective procedure, and how to check your own coverage before you decide.
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Your Health Scheme Won't Cover Treatment Abroad
When a national health scheme says no, or pays only part, treatment abroad becomes a planning problem. Why schemes refuse, and what to do next, step by step.
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Elective Surgery Wait Times: UK, Canada, Australia
What the UK, Canada and Australia's elective surgery systems share, how priority categories decide who queues longest, and what you can do while you wait.
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Elective Surgery Waiting Times in Australia
What Australia's 2024-25 public hospital elective surgery statistics show, how the urgency categories work, and how the private pathway differs.
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Hip Replacement Wait Times in Canada: The CIHI Data
How long Canadians wait for a hip replacement, from the date surgery is agreed to the operation: CIHI percentiles and benchmarks, province by province.
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Knee Replacement Waiting Times on the NHS
What NHS England's RTT statistics show about knee replacement waiting times, how the 18-week pathway works, and what you can do while you wait.
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Cancer Second Opinion Online from India
How a written cancer second opinion from an Indian specialist works, the situations where it commonly changes a treatment plan, and what to send for review.
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How an Online Second Opinion from India Works
How a written second opinion from an independent Indian specialist works: the steps, the published $150 fee, exactly what to send, and what the report covers.
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Our Fees, Published: $50, $150, $1,000
Medtu Care's complete published fee schedule: what each fee buys, how every fee is credited to the next step, the refund rules, and what is always free.
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Second Opinion Before Surgery: 7 Questions
Seven questions to ask before agreeing to surgery, starting with whether to operate at all, and how a written second opinion helps you ask them well.
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Waiting for Surgery? What a Second Opinion Settles
For patients on an elective surgery pathway in the UK, Canada or Australia: what an independent written second opinion clarifies while you wait, and how it works without committing to travel.
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Why We Take No Money From Hospitals
Where the money comes from when a medical-travel agent is "free": commissions, quote padding, and lead sales, plus how a patient-paid model works instead.
Read next, outside the blog
Other topics
- What treatment in India costs Every Medtu Care cost guide in one place: honest INR and USD planning ranges by procedure, what hospital packages include and exclude, and how to read a quote.
- Travelling to India for treatment, from your country Country-specific guides to treatment travel: Indian medical visas, e-Medical visa eligibility, flight routings, attendants, and how families fund a journey.
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