Should You Get A Second Opinion

     “So you want a second opinion?” the doctor said. “Then listen up and I'll tell you again." As I point out in my book, Patient Confidential, Tips and Advice To Keep You Safe As You Navigate the Healthcare System, (for more information about Patient Confidential, please click here), that was not only a joke decades go, but too often a reality. Patients did not question the doctor. I believe the current reality is totally different, or should be. I write in Patient Confidential, "I think, and I believe most doctors think, that [second opinions] are a good idea in the right circumstances. The right circumstances include when a malady may be relatively serious and that there may be alternative treatments or perhaps even alternative diagnoses."

     The overarching theme I "preach" in Patient Confidential is that the patient is not a bystander. The patient must be an active participant, a partner with the healthcare providers, in order to maximize the diagnosis and treatment of the patient's medical problems and to minimize the risks of bad outcomes. Patients need to ask questions, do research and educate themselves. But, the ultimate medical judgment must be made by a medical professional. The way to insure that the diagnosis of a serious medical problem is right and that the treatment is the best available, is to get a second opinion. I have gotten many second opinions, and not once did the first doctor do anything but commend and support my decision. If your doctor discourages you from getting a second opinion, except if your situation is an emergency where there may be no time to get a second opinion, you need a new doctor, not just a new opinion.