OREANDA-NEWS. Sberbank has added to the options offered by Second Medical Opinion, the first service of its kind on the banking market, which was launched last year for clients with the Sberbank Premier service package. The service lets clients get an independent second opinion from world-class medical personnel in the unfortunate event that they are diagnosed with critical illnesses that involve oncology, neurology, nephrology, orthopaedics, or cardiology.

Now it is possible to receive a second opinion on diagnoses of other, more common illnesses: diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs, and diseases of the eye, kidneys, lungs and respiratory system. The service also covers illnesses related to endocrine system disorders and birth defects such as congenital heart defects, and growth and development disorders.

To use the service, all a client has to do is phone the Sberbank Life Insurance contact centre and send the results of medical tests via email. These results will be studied by highly qualified doctors from leading international clinics. Within 14 days of document provision, the client will receive a second opinion and treatment recommendations.

In addition, Sberbank has created the Navigation service – on behalf of the client, experienced advisors will organise treatment in Russia and abroad, resolve administrative, transport and accommodation issues, and provide visa support and legal assistance. This insurance covers all clients who hold the Sberbank Premier package, as well as their spouses and minor children.

"We researched clients’ attitude to medical consultancy and discovered that 75% of the target audience was very interested in the Second Medical Opinion service," said Sberbank Managing Director Maxim Styopochkin. "We looked at the initial results of the service, mapped out areas for development and contacted partners to discuss including cover for additional diseases. Now we are very pleased to offer clients an improved service with wider coverage. For example, if a client is diagnosed with diabetes, a knee injury or has been told to get laser eye surgery, they can now get a second opinion and receive treatment recommendations from an international expert. Proper treatment considerably increases the patient’s chances of making a full recovery."

More than 230,000 clients currently use the Sberbank Premier service package. Among other things, the package allows them access personal service in Sberbank Premier’s premium areas, take out travel insurance for themselves and their families, open bank deposits at higher rates, receive premium bank cards that offer better conditions for Sberbank’s loyalty programme, use business lounges in airports across the globe free of charge, and exchange currency at concessionary rates.