The Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium has contracted with Best Doctors Inc. to provide a second opinion medical service to its members. The consortium includes more than 20,000 school district employees, retirees and eligible family members.

At a monthly cost of $2 to $3 per employee that is paid by the employer, consortium members will have phone access to nurses to discuss serious medical conditions. Best Doctors also will get information from the employee's physician, then consult with experts from the "Best Doctors in America" database.

Employees then receive a comprehensive report summarizing their findings and making recommendations for the best treatment course.

"Our approach to health and wellness is founded on a desire to help members be more proactive when it comes to their health care," said Walt Michalski, ACSHIC board member and a state staff representative for the American Federation of Teachers, in a statement.

The consortium was formed in 1988 to help school employees get health insurance. Its members include the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, vocational-technical institutions and the Community College of Allegheny College.

Best Doctors was founded in 1989 by two Harvard Medical School professors and serves more than 250 insurers, employers and health plans in 30 countries.