{"id":17515,"date":"2018-07-12T21:28:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T02:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zocdoc-patient-blog.kettleinthekitchen.com\/?p=17515"},"modified":"2023-03-03T15:18:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T20:18:03","slug":"a-guide-to-second-opinions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/a-guide-to-second-opinions\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Guide to Getting a Second Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you receive a serious diagnosis or face an invasive procedure, you might wonder if you have all the information you need to make the best decision about your health. Is your diagnosis accurate? Have you been informed of every possible treatment option? Is that expensive test necessary? Is surgery the right approach?<\/span><\/p>\n

These are the right questions.<\/span>\u00a0And when they come up, it\u2019s often a good idea to consult more than one doctor. <\/span>
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\u201cWhenever you\u2019re not sure about your diagnosis or you\u2019re considering a treatment that has some risk involved and is not urgent, you should look for a second opinion,\u201d says Dr. Ilana Graetz, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. \u201cDon\u2019t be shy about asking for a referral to another specialist. Your doctor should not be offended if they want you to get the best medical advice.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, there\u2019s no need to feel guilty about second-guessing your doctor\u2019s verdict. For most physicians, being asked for a referral to get an independent opinion is nothing personal. That\u2019s because many health conditions are difficult to diagnose accurately, and doctors sometimes disagree with one another about the best treatment approach. Moreover, misdiagnoses are common: One in 20 Americans seeking medical services experiences a diagnostic error each year, and most patients will experience at least one in their lifetime, according to a <\/span>2015 report<\/span><\/a> by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>score<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>studies<\/span><\/a> have <\/span>shown<\/span><\/a> how second examinations can improve initial diagnoses. One published this month in the Annals of Surgical Oncology<\/em> found that of 70 patients diagnosed with breast cancer who sought a second consultation, 43 percent received a modified diagnosis. A <\/span>2017 study<\/span><\/a> published in the <\/span>Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice<\/span><\/i> compared referral diagnoses made by primary care physicians to final diagnoses from specialists for nearly 300 patients with a variety of conditions. The diagnoses only matched in 12 percent of cases. <\/span>For 66 percent of cases, a second consultation led to a refined diagnosis. In 21 percent of cases, the final diagnoses were substantially different than the initial ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

A patient’s right to ask around<\/h2>\n

Patients have a right to obtain copies of their medical records and test results. And many states include the right to a second opinion in their patient\u2019s bill of rights, Graetz says. Thanks to electronic health records and patient portals, it\u2019s easy to access your medical information and take it to another physician, she says. <\/span><\/p>\n

But patients don\u2019t always know about this right or feel inclined to use it. A 2010 <\/span>Gallup survey<\/span><\/a> found that 70 percent of Americans say they don’t feel the need to get a second opinion or even do additional research.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are more likely to look for a second opinion when you take your car to a mechanic than when it\u2019s your heart,\u201d says Ash Dav\u00e9, president of <\/span>Second Opinion Expert<\/span><\/a>, an online service that provides specialist consultation on patients\u2019 medical records. \u201cThe education is not there for patients. That\u2019s the sad part.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Who pays the bill<\/h2>\n

In most cases, additional care costs more money. “<\/span>The opinion itself doesn\u2019t really have cost associated with it, but the visit to that doctor absolutely does,” says Joe Hubbs, client operations manager at Sequoia One, which coordinates benefits programs for small companies.<\/p>\n

But the initial expense may pay off in the long run by saving patients from getting the wrong treatment, says James Naessens, a policy and health services researcher at the Mayo Clinic who led the 2017 study. <\/span><\/p>\n

Health plans vary in how they deal with second opinions. Some insurers, including Medicare, encourage patients to get second opinions for serious conditions; some even require them before green-lighting surgical procedures.<\/span><\/p>\n

But some plans may not say anything specific about whether or not they cover second opinions. Moreover, each plan gives you different levels of freedom in terms of who you can see inside and outside of your network. Some insurance plans are designed with \u201cnarrow networks,\u201d offering a limited number of specific providers that may not include many specialists for all diseases, Naessens says.<\/span><\/p>\n

To find out how your health plan handles second opinions, and to what extent it covers them, you have to contact your insurer. Here are some questions to ask: <\/span><\/p>\n