Best Doctors

What Best Doctors does

Best Doctors, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, provides expert medical opinion and second-opinion services for patients facing complex or serious diagnoses. The company operates a curated global network of leading medical specialists across multiple subspecialties, matching incoming cases to the most relevant experts who review medical records, confirm or revise diagnoses, and recommend treatment plans. The service is delivered asynchronously or through direct specialist consultation, with a 24/7 access model. Operationally, the platform handles case intake, medical record aggregation, specialist routing, and report delivery, supported by 501–1,000 employees.

The business is structured as a B2B enterprise service, sold via field sales to health plan insurers and large employer benefit programs. Revenue is generated through contractual agreements that embed expert medical opinion into insurance benefit packages or employee benefits, typically priced per-member-per-month or per-case under recurring subscription-style contracts. Primary customer segments are health plans and employers, with individual patients accessing the service as members or covered beneficiaries rather than as direct retail consumers. Polaris Partners is listed as a portfolio investor across its main and growth funds, and Best Doctors' offering now sits within Teladoc Health's Specialty & Wellness suite, giving it access to Teladoc's broader enterprise distribution. Strategic capital partners have historically included Nippon Life Insurance of Japan and Brown Brothers Harriman, and the company executed the RiseHealth acquisition in 2014 to extend its data and analytics capability. The European medical second opinion market (USD 1.74B in 2024, projected USD 7.32B by 2033) and the Latin American IPMI market (above $1.5B in premiums) frame the international expansion runway.

Name

Best Doctors

Website

https://bestdoctors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Best Doctors provides expert medical second opinions through a global specialist network for health plans and large employers, matching complex cases to leading physicians who review diagnoses and treatment plans. The service is now offered within Teladoc Health's Specialty & Wellness suite.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Second Opinion Services

NAICS

Offices of Physicians (6211)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Second Opinion & Expert Medical Review Platforms (HLALADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual Second Opinion & Care Navigation Platforms (HLALAAAF), Second Opinion & Expert Matching Platforms (HLALALAC)

Keywords

• Expert medical opinions
• Second opinion services
• Medical consultation platform
• Diagnostic review services
• Specialist physician network

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Health Plan Contracts: Best Doctors generates revenue through contractual agreements with health plan insurers, embedding expert medical opinion services into insurance benefit packages as a covered or add-on service for members facing complex medical diagnoses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Best Doctors connects patients facing complex or serious medical diagnoses with a global network of leading medical specialists who review cases and provide expert second opinions and treatment plan recommendations. The service is delivered through the Teladoc Health Specialty & Wellness suite and is embedded in health plan and employer benefit programs to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Expert Medical Opinion

Quantifiable outcome

• IPMI transitioning from niche to mainstream, with Latin American market exceeding $1.5 billion in premiums and consistent growth trajectory, signaling broader market adoption of international medical opinion services.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• 2nd.MD (Accolade): 2nd.MD, now part of Accolade, provides expert medical second opinions and care navigation services to employees and health plan members. It is the closest direct competitor to Best Doctors in the employer-sponsored second opinion category with a near-identical enterprise go-to-market motion.
• Included Health: Included Health (formed from Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand) offers expert medical opinions combined with virtual primary care and behavioral health. It competes directly with Best Doctors for employer and health plan second opinion contracts while bundling a broader navigation platform.
• Doctor On Demand (Included Health): Doctor On Demand, now part of Included Health, provides on-demand virtual urgent and behavioral health visits with the option for specialist consults. While its core focus is urgent care, its bundled offering competes with Best Doctors for employer virtual care budgets that include second opinion components.
• Cleveland Clinic MyConsult: Cleveland Clinic's MyConsult is an online medical second opinion service connecting patients to Cleveland Clinic specialists across multiple subspecialties. It competes with Best Doctors in delivering specialist-led second opinions, with the additional credibility of a top-ranked US health system brand.
• Mayo Clinic Expert Opinion: Mayo Clinic offers expert medical second opinion and eConsult services that route complex cases to its specialists. It is a direct competitor in the high-acuity second opinion market, particularly for serious diagnoses like cancer and cardiac conditions where Mayo's brand carries weight.

Broad incumbents

• Teladoc Health: Teladoc Health is the parent platform that houses Best Doctors' Expert Medical Opinion service within its Specialty & Wellness suite. As a broad incumbent in virtual care, Teladoc competes for the same employer and health plan budgets while also serving as Best Doctors' primary distribution channel.
• Accolade: Accolade is a broader personalized healthcare and benefits navigation platform serving large employers and health plans. It acquired 2nd.MD to bundle second opinions into a wider navigation and advocacy offering, making it a broad incumbent peer that competes for the same enterprise buyer.
• Health Advocate: Health Advocate provides employee assistance programs, medical advocacy, and expert medical opinion services to employers and health plans. It is a broad incumbent in the employer benefits space with overlapping second opinion and care navigation capabilities.

Regional players

• Lyra Health: Lyra Health is a mental health benefits platform serving primarily US employers and increasingly international markets with virtual therapy and psychiatry. While focused on behavioral health rather than medical second opinions, it competes with Best Doctors for enterprise benefit budget allocation.

Emerging players

• Hinge Health: Hinge Health is a digital musculoskeletal care provider delivering virtual physical therapy and expert specialist consultations to employers and health plans. It is an emerging player that intersects with Best Doctors by offering specialist-led care for specific high-cost conditions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bestdoctors
• Facebookfacebook.com/BestDoctors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/best-doctors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Best Doctors