Massachusetts General Hospital is preparing to launch an online telemedicine service for patients seeking second opinions, the hospital’s telehealth chief said on Tuesday. Right now, second opinions are available through contracts with employer groups.

Massachusetts General Hospital’s still unnamed offering will debut at some point this fall, targeting multiple specialties.

Mass General currently offers both synchronous and asynchronous services, including clinicians-to-patient “visits” and clinician-to-clinician “consults.”

Because Massachusetts doesn’t mandate that private insurers reimburse telehealth services at the same level as in-person encounters or offer telehealth parity for state employee health plans, a direct-to-consumer service could prove to be lucrative for the hospital.

The hospital does get reimbursed by Medicaid and some private payers for certain follow-up virtual visits, including those for cancer, cardiology, gastrointestinal, neurology, pediatrics, internal medicine, mental health and surgical medicine follow-ups with patients in their homes.

[Via: MedCityNews]