Why Choose Us
A consultation with a wide-ranging team of experts can change the course of your care — for the good.
What is the National Consultation Program?
The National Consultation Program (NCP) is hosted by the Department of Internal Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, whose providers assemble and lead a team that can change the course of your care. A consultation with NCP — which you or your provider can request with a simple phone call — is an innovative way to bring in the top specialists in a wide number of areas. This team of experts can provide fresh perspectives, diagnosis, and treatment for whatever complex condition you have. Think of it as a meeting of the minds — some of the best minds in modern medicine — to discuss your specific situation.
We understand that sometimes finding satisfying answers to your health concerns can feel like a confusing, frustrating and often lonely path. And getting real help might seem almost impossible. But you’ve come to the right place.
When should I consider a consultation?
The right time might be different for you than someone else, but often our experts provide a consultation when you’ve reached a frustrating roadblock in your health journey. Among the reasons you may be looking for a consultation now:
- You have more than one medical condition —or you’ve seen several specialists but they haven’t been involved in a truly coordinated way.
- You still haven’t received a clear diagnosis — or several diagnoses that only make things more confusing for you.
- You just haven’t responded to a treatment. Or a second treatment. Multiple treatments.
- Or maybe your care has just become fragmented over time as you have rallied to manage your own care — and then let it go out of sheer frustration.
If any of these scenarios sound familiar, a Cleveland Clinic medical consultation could really help. This careful, comprehensive effort lets us dig into the details of your condition and care so far. But we also step back and look at the big picture. The result is often a deeper understanding of what’s going on. You and your primary care provider could soon have a new, detailed plan on how to treat your condition. And you could have a fresh helping of hope. Don’t live near Cleveland Clinic? Virtual consultations are often available. Or we can help arrange travel and hotel accommodations for you if you prefer or need to meet in person with our experts in Ohio. And we’re fast. Within five days from the time you or your provider contact our call center, we’ll set up your virtual or in-person consultation.
Your Consultation at Cleveland Clinic
Our internal medicine team at the NCP understands that not finding satisfactory answers to your health condition can be unsettling and frustrating. So, they’ll take time to talk with you about what’s going on when you come to your first appointment. They’ll listen to your concerns, ask questions about your symptoms and answer any questions you might have.
Getting records in order
When you call us, we’ll register you right away with Cleveland Clinic or update your previous registration. The next steps are simple:
- We’ll contact you in no more than five business days and answer any questions you have.
- We’ll ask you to sign up for MyChart, our electronic patient portal where together we’ll track and manage your diagnosis and care.
- You’ll fill out a questionnaire on MyChart. Your detailed answers will help us plan the consultations and appointments.
Good medical records help us understand your condition. Often, we can access your provider’s records through a shared electronic medical record system. Sometimes, though, you’ll need to gather records that are most relevant to the reasons for your visit. These may include:
- Laboratory results.
- Radiology/imaging reports (CT or MRI scans, or ultrasound).
- Heart tests (echocardiogram, stress test).
- Any other test results, including an endoscopy, surgery reports or neurological tests.
If you have images from any of these tests, it is best to have them on a compact disc (CD).
If you’ve already seen several different providers, it’s also helpful to have the notes of the last one or two office visits. Extensive emergency room and hospital admission records are usually not needed. A hospital discharge summary is usually more useful.
Virtual consultation
We’re now able to do many comprehensive medical consultations virtually. The initial intake session will take about an hour. We’ll arrange for all the experts to meet with you online at pre-arranged time — without a trip to the hospital or your provider’s office.
Because of our membership in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, we can do medical consultations in Ohio and across much of the U.S. Not every state is a member of this compact, so we’ll confirm first whether this is available in your home state before we set up a comprehensive virtual consultation.
We’ll always end every consultation with a session to lay out next steps.
In-person consultation
Other times, we’ll arrange for you to have your consultation in person at the NCP. So how’s this going to work?
When you first arrive at our Main Campus in Cleveland, you’ll meet first with an internal medicine provider for a consultation that lasts about an hour an half. We’ll ask about any symptoms you have, how long you’ve had them and if you’ve noticed any new ones. We’ll go over all your care up to this point, including test results and diagnoses from other providers and any medications you’re taking.
Then, you’ll be referred to other physicians within Cleveland Clinic — based on the information you’ve shared with us. In most cases, we’ll have those appointments scheduled for you on the same day as your consultation. All the providers who meet with you will share notes and collaborate to help diagnose and make suggestions for solutions.
We recommend that you make a second visit to NCP (in person or virtually) following the referrals and visits with the other Cleveland Clinic providers. This follow-up appointment provides the opportunity to bring together all the results and craft a comprehensive care plan for you.
We’ll give you a summary at the end of your wrap-up visit. We can also send our recommendations to your primary care provider if you’d like. It’s a good idea to see your provider to review the report and recommendations.
Travel assistance
If you’re traveling to Cleveland Clinic from out-of-state, our Medical Concierge service can help make travel arrangements and hotel accommodations for you — including reservations at hotels on our Cleveland Clinic main campus.
You can reach Medical Concierge at 216.636.1288.
Cleveland Clinic offers parking, lodging and transportation options on and near the main campus.
Appointments
Taking the next step
Our National Consultation Program team can be the difference maker on whatever health journey you’re on. We bring together the best minds to help you gain clarity about your condition, so you get the answers and treatment you need.
The National Consultation Program at is based in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus in Cleveland, Ohio. Call 216.444.5665 or toll-free at 800.223.2273 ext. 45665 for more information or to schedule an appointment.
