Best Doctors

Dear Dr. Vass:

We are pleased to inform you that after a rigorous and confidential voting process, you have been selected by your peers to be included in the inaugural Best Doctors Australian and New Zealand database.

The Australasian and New Zealand database is set to become a valued resource and forms part of the Best Doctors global database that contains the names and professional profiles of approximately 50,000 peer-nominated experts. Your entry into our database occurred after a selective peer-review survey by hundreds of Australian and New Zealand doctors. Only those who earn the consensus support of their peers are included. Doctors cannot buy listings. For this reason, inclusion in the Best Doctors Australian and New Zealand database can be considered a great honour and a reflection of your standing within our local medical community.

As a selected inaugural member, you now have the opportunity to participate in the Best Doctors global program. Best Doctors harnesses the knowledge of the 50,000 specialists included in the database to provide a unique combination of medical experience, skill and insight that our clients can access to help them confidently manage complex medical problems. Today Best Doctors serves over 30 million people in 30 countries and has worldwide acclaim for successfully connecting patients to the best medical care.

We believe that it is vital that Australian and New Zealand specialists are recognised and involved in world leading initiatives. Best Doctors provides an opportunity for local specialists to not only help local patients to access specific medical information, but also be part of the global network providing confidence and reassurance to millions of patients and their treating doctors all over the globe.

Sincerely

Darren Reynolds BA, Dip Mgmt Director Best Doctors Australasia M: +61 423 532 225	Dr Russell Stitz AM, RFD, MBBS FRACS, FRCS(Eng) Foundation Chair Australian and New Zealand Database P: +61 7 3039 1300	Dr John Aloizos AM, MBBS, FRACGP, FAICD Chair Australasian Medical Advisory Board P: +61 7 3343 134

What is Best Doctors

Best Doctors was founded by two professors from the Harvard School of Medicine who had the vision of ensuring the very best medical advice would be available to patients who needed it, at a time they needed it the most.

Best Doctors connects patients and their treating doctors with the world's leading medical specialists. These specialists provide an independent, diagnostically driven review of the patient's current diagnosis and treatment options, either confirming the current opinion or offering a new perspective for consideration. The delivered written report provides clarity, certainty and confidence to both patients and their treating doctors.

Since its foundation in 1989, Best Doctors has grown into a global organisation that contributes to the care of 30 million people in 30 countries and works closely with the medical profession to support the very highest standards of medical practice.

Since launching in Australia in November 2009, we have worked closely to build relationships with key medical bodies such as RACS , RACGP , RN ZCGP , NZMA and the AMA . We have interacted with over 500 Australian and New Zealand patients, supporting local doctors in providing the ultimate peace of mind.

Recognising Australian and New Zealand talent

Our mission at Best Doctors is to build a truly global database of the world's leading specialists and we recognise that the Australian and New Zealand medical community has a major role to play. That is why we have begun the polling process in Australasia.

Australasia has many leading practitioners who are respected across the world as being at the forefront in their field. The inaugural database of peer nominated specialists will form an important part of our global database and ensure patients get access to leading local medical specialists.

How does the Best Doctors service work?

Starting the Australian and New Zealand database

To create the starting point for the nomination process for the Australian and New Zealand database, Best Doctors has enlisted the help of Dr. Russell Stitz and the Best Doctors Australasian Medical Advisory Board to provide seed list nominations of respected medical specialists. These members are:

• Dr. John Aloizos, AM, MBBS, FRACGP, FAICD.
• Professor Martin Tattersall, AO, MA, MD,Msc, FRCP, FRACP.
• Professor Stephen Arthur Deane, MBBS,FRACS, FRCS(C), FACS.
• Dr. John Mayhew, BSc, MBChB, DipObst,DipSpMed(Hon), DOccMed, FRNZCGP.

The benefits of being part of the Best Doctors network

• Build your profile as a leader in your field.
• An opportunity to share your medical knowledge with more patients in an efficient and effective way.
• Sharing your medical knowledge among the various countries in which we operate.
• The opportunity to participate in FindBestDoc ™, a referral system for members.
• The opportunity to participate in AskTheExpert, a reference service for members.
• The opportunity to write InterConsultation reports on diverse and interesting cases.
• Receive appropriate remuneration for InterConsultation reports worked on.
• Above all else, it's an opportunity to work together to improve patient care.

How can you BE involved?

Email anzdatabase@bestdoctors.com or call +61 3 9225 5066 and ask for Database Project Manager

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why have I not heard of Best Doctors?

Although Best Doctors has a 23 year history, it has only been operating in Australasia since 2009. We are growing and building our Australasian profile every day and now support over 500,000 Australians and New Zealanders.

How did I get into your database?

You were nominated by one of your Australasian peers from an initial seed list initiated by our Australasian Medical Advisory Board. Each nominee had the opportunity to make further nominations of doctors they would recommend as the best in their specialty. Each doctor nominated was given the opportunity to vote on all doctors in the poll. Only those doctors who received the consensus of support from their peers have been selected for the inaugural Best Doctors Australasian database.

What is my potential liability with respect to my delivery of a report as a Best Doctors Expert?

It is important to note that in more than 18 years and thousands of similar cases, we have never been sued for our work on these cases. We are protected by the fact that:

• We do not have a doctor-patient relationship with the members who have access to our services.
• No person provides any medical treatment to any member on behalf of Best Doctors.

What is the impact of Best Doctors InterConsultations on Best Doctors' members?

We continue to have a marked impact on the care of our members. Global stats on over 10,000 InterConsultations show that approximately 20% of the time our expert's recommendations result in a change the patient's diagnosis and over 50% of the time we contribute to a change in the patient's treatment plan. In Australasia the stats are a change in Diagnosis 12% of the time and a change in treatment around 23% of the time. This shows in many cases we also provide confidence and peace of mind when diagnosis and recommended treatments are confirmed.

Can one resign from participation?

Your participation in the Best Doctors program is completely voluntary. You may tell us at any time that you no longer wish to receive case requests.

Best Doctors, Australia Level 50/120 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000 P: 03 9225 5066 F: 03 9225 5050

www.bestdoctors.com