Medical interpretation
Records, diagnoses, risk, and specialist recommendations, reviewed closely to identify the decisions and uncertainties that matter most.
Private physician advisory
Physician judgment when healthcare gets complicated.
Sometimes the problem is not a lack of medical care. It is that the records, specialists, risks, and realities of the person and family have never been considered together.
This service exists alongside the doctors you already trust, not instead of them.
What can be lost from view
The medical record can be complete and still not tell the whole story.
Diagnoses, test results, orders, and treatment plans are visible because medical systems are built to document them. The harder parts of a decision often sit underneath: what has changed, what remains uncertain, what the patient is trying to preserve, what the family can realistically carry, and whether the recommendations actually fit together.
Good advisory work does not replace the visible record. It brings the less visible parts of the case back into view.
Situations
When the case has outgrown any single appointment.
Start with the situation closest to yours. Each page explains how physician advisory support may fit that kind of decision.
Complex diagnosis
Clarifying the problem, the options, and the next right questions to ask.
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Hospital navigation
Understanding what is happening, what is being decided, and what to ask next.
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Pediatric & adolescent
Complex care, multiple specialists, conflicting recommendations, and difficult decisions involving a child or teenager.
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Executive health
Independent medical review for complex health decisions, prevention, and long-range planning.
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Aging parent
Decline, safety, independence, facility decisions, and family communication.
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Pregnancy & family planning
Thinking clearly through treatment, medication, risk, and health decisions before, during, and after pregnancy.
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Serious illness & end-of-life
Understanding prognosis, treatment choices, quality of life, and the decisions that matter when time or options may be limited.
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Emerging treatments
Evaluating trials and unconventional options with careful attention to evidence, uncertainty, cost, and risk.
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Clarifying the problem, the options, and the next right questions to ask.
Learn more →
Hospital navigation
Understanding what is happening, what is being decided, and what to ask next.
Learn more →
Pediatric & adolescent
Complex care, multiple specialists, conflicting recommendations, and difficult decisions involving a child or teenager.
Learn more →
Executive health
Independent medical review for complex health decisions, prevention, and long-range planning.
Learn more →
Aging parent
Decline, safety, independence, facility decisions, and family communication.
Learn more →
Pregnancy & family planning
Thinking clearly through treatment, medication, risk, and health decisions before, during, and after pregnancy.
Learn more →
Serious illness & end-of-life
Understanding prognosis, treatment choices, quality of life, and the decisions that matter when time or options may be limited.
Learn more →
Emerging treatments
Evaluating trials and unconventional options with careful attention to evidence, uncertainty, cost, and risk.
Learn more →
What the service covers
What physician advisory work actually involves.
Care coordination
Preparing for visits, aligning family members, joining conversations, and arranging in-person review when it genuinely helps.
Option scrutiny
Evaluating trials, emerging treatments, and unconventional claims for evidence, uncertainty, cost, and risk before a decision gathers momentum.
Is this a fit
A quick way to check.
This service is selective by design. A few direct questions can help clarify whether this kind of physician support fits the situation.
Likely fit
A family is overwhelmed
This is exactly the kind of situation advisory support is designed for. The role is to slow things down, translate the medical reality, clarify the choices, and recognize where medical uncertainty and family communication may be overlapping.
Led by Benjamin Caplan, MD
20+
Years helping patients and families make sense of complex medical decisions
300,000+
Clinical judgment refined through care oversight and longitudinal data spanning more than 300,000 medical cannabis patients
NEJM
Published in The New England Journal of Medicine
HBS
Lectured at Harvard Business School; author, Penguin Random House
How it works
You can begin before the case is perfectly organized.
The first step is a private inquiry. Tell us what is happening, how soon the decision matters, and whatever context you have now. We review the situation before deciding whether an advisory relationship is appropriate.
Private consultation request
A short, confidential inquiry that identifies the situation, the timeline, and whether this is an advisory fit.
Case review
Records, context, current clinicians, and the decision points that may benefit from closer independent medical review.
Advisory plan
A clear next-step structure: what to ask, who to involve, what to verify, and which risks deserve the most attention.
Optional ongoing relationship
Ongoing advisory support, when useful, with priority scheduling for time-sensitive discussions and clearly defined boundaries.
What this is not
Clear boundaries, stated plainly.
My role is easier to understand when I am equally clear about what I do not provide.
This is not emergency care, primary care replacement, psychotherapy, insurance-based care, or a guarantee of access to specific treatments.
It is physician-led advisory support for complex medical decisions, care navigation, and long-range health strategy, working alongside the clinicians you already trust.
Is this covered by insurance?
No. This advisory service is not billed to insurance.
Do you work with families outside Massachusetts?
Availability outside Massachusetts depends on the nature of the request and the role being asked of the advisory service. We can clarify fit after reviewing the inquiry.
Take this with you
A private summary, for when you have time to think it over.
Everything above, condensed to a single page you can save, print, or share with the people helping you decide.
The one-page summary.
Who this fits, what the work involves, how Focused and Longitudinal Advisory differ, and where the boundaries are, in one page you can keep.
- Whether this is the right fit for your situation
- What the advisory relationship actually includes
- Focused and Longitudinal Advisory, side by side
- The boundaries of the service, stated plainly
Private physician advisory
Physician judgment when healthcare gets complicated.
Sometimes the problem is not a lack of medical care. It is that the records, specialists, risks, and family realities have never been considered together.
The role
One physician asking how the pieces fit.
My Family Medicine lens looks across the medical problems, treatments, risks, and life around them. My role is to hold that larger clinical view when the next decision is hard to see.
I do not replace your treating team. I help you understand, evaluate, and navigate the decisions around them.
What can be lost from view
The medical record can be complete and still not tell the whole story.
Diagnoses, test results, orders, and plans are easy to document. What often needs more interpretation is what changed, what remains uncertain, and what matters most to the patient and family.
Good advisory work helps bring the less visible parts of a case back into view.
Situations
Start with what you’re facing.
Choose the situation closest to yours.
What I do
What physician advisory work actually involves.
Medical interpretation
Review the records, diagnoses, risks, and recommendations closely enough to clarify what matters most.
Care coordination
Prepare for visits, align family members, and help important conversations stay focused.
Option scrutiny
Evaluate trials and emerging options for evidence, uncertainty, cost, and risk.
Is this a fit
Is this the kind of help you need?
Tap the situation closest to yours. The answer opens directly underneath it.
My family is overwhelmed
Likely fit
This is exactly the kind of situation advisory support is designed for. The role is to slow things down, clarify the choices, and recognize where medical uncertainty and family communication may be overlapping.
We’re considering an unconventional treatment
Likely fit, with caution
This can be useful when the goal is careful evaluation of evidence, uncertainty, cost, and risk. The role is scrutiny, not endorsement or guaranteed access.
I need routine primary care
Not the right fit
Annual physicals, refills, labs, and insurance-based primary care belong with a treating primary care physician.
I need emergency access
Not the right fit
This is not emergency medical coverage. For urgent needs, contact the treating team or emergency services directly.
Led by Benjamin Caplan, MD
The experience behind the judgment.
Years helping patients and families make sense of complex medical decisions
Clinical judgment refined through care oversight and longitudinal data spanning more than 300,000 medical cannabis patients
Published in The New England Journal of Medicine
Lectured at Harvard Business School; author, Penguin Random House
What happens next
The first task is to find the decision inside the details.
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1
Private inquiry
Tell us what is happening and how soon the decision matters.
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2
Case review
We review the context, records, clinicians, and decision points.
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3
Advisory plan
You leave with clearer questions, priorities, and next steps.
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4
Ongoing support, when useful
Advisory support can continue within clearly defined boundaries.
What this is not
Clear boundaries, stated plainly.
This is not emergency care, primary care replacement, psychotherapy, insurance-based care, or a guarantee of access to specific treatments.
Is this covered by insurance?
No. This advisory service is not billed to insurance.
Do you work with families outside Massachusetts?
Availability depends on the nature of the request and the role being asked of the advisory service. We can clarify fit after reviewing the inquiry.
Take this with you
A private summary, for later.
One page covering fit, what the work involves, pricing, and the boundaries of the service, yours to keep.
Request a consultation
Tell us what’s happening.
You do not need to organize the case perfectly. A few details are enough to help us understand where to begin.