The Rise In Second Opinions

The Wall Street Journal ran a recent article about second opinions. In interviews about my book, Patient Confidential, Tips and Advice To Keep You Safe As You Navigate the Healthcare System, the thing I am most often asked about is a second opinion. I say in my book, " . . . I believe most doctors think that [second opinions] are a good idea in the right circumstances." The article points out that second opinions may in many cases now be done on-line. This service is being offered by such well-known institutions as Massachusetts General Hospital and Cleveland Clinic, as well as stand alone businesses. The patient pays a fee and sends his medical records to the second opinion provider who then renders a second opinion. As the article acknowledges, this is especially valuable for patients who do not live close to major medical centers. I think that a face-to-face second opinion is better, but do not diminish the usefulness of the on-line second opinion when necessary.  However obtained, it is obvious that second opinions are being sought in increasing numbers. George Pauly of Massachusetts General estimated that its "online second-opinion service, which started about eight years ago, handled about 10,000 cases last year compared with fewer than 1,000 five years ago . . . ."

Richard on the Radio

 

 

I will be interviewed for a Bloomberg radio program which will air at 12 noon ET on Saturday, August 29, on 970WFLA Tampa.  There is also a live video stream at the same time.  The program can be accessed by going to: http://webeamtv.com/ and clicking on the American Medicine Today link.

Article Stresses the Importance of Being a Proactive Patient

An excellent article in The Wall Street Journal stresses the importance of managing one's own health care, which I stress in Patient Confidential, Tips and Advice To Keep You Safe As You Navigate the Healthcare System. The article contains many good tips and discusses programs being developed by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help patients in this endeavor.

The article states, "'Conflicts between medications, and doctors that don’t talk to one another, is a big and common problem,” said John Piette, director of the Center for Managing Chronic Disease at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. 'People have difficulty managing both symptoms and side effects of multiple medications,' he added." It goes on to say, "The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in July issued a free curriculum for training health-care professionals and others in how to care for patients with multiple chronic conditions.

In Patient Confidential, I repeat many times that the patient needs to be educated and ask questions, and cannot be a passive object of medical care. The article quotes Dr. Victor Montori, a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, "Patients must also educate themselves about the health care they need, said Dr. Montori."

In the Afterword to Patient Confidential, I say, "If you learned nothing else, I hope you learned how critical it is that you be proactive in your healthcare. If you don't understand something or it doesn't sound right, ask, ask and ask some more."