Kevin's Social Blog: Second Opinion Preparations

Plan to deliver copies of your records, including test results and notes from your first doctor, yourself, even if Doctor-1's staff tells you they will transfer your records to Doctor-2.
Doctor-2 will begin by reading your test results and notes.
She will examine you just like Doctor-1 did
She will either concur with Doctor-1, or will discuss other options with you.
She may arrange for additional tests.
You may have to make another appointment to get her opinion after she receives those results.

Read up on your medical condition, so that you arrive well-informed.
Prepare a concise chronology of how your condition developed.
Bring a levelheaded relative or friend to listen, take notes and ask questions you might forget if you're nervous.
Prepare a list of such questions

What is the matter with me?
What treatment options do I have?
How many procedures have you done for a condition like mine?
(If the doctor recommends a different course of treatment:) Why does your recommendation differ from that of my other doctor?
Is there anything else I should know?

To help avoid any misunderstandings, don't forget to ask your doctor to summarize his or her advice before you leave.
If you have follow-up questions, fax or e-mail them to the doctor along with a phone number where you can be reliably reached in the late afternoon or early evening.

Let the doctor ask questions.
Ask for a physical exam if you are otherwise not getting one.
Ask your questions about what the doctor is telling you, or about subjects of concern that the doctor doesn't raise.
If there isn't time to cover them all, ask the doctor when you can see him or her again or call with the rest of your questions. (Some people prefer to ask questions in a fax or by e mail
Do not make the time about checking the diagnosing doctor's work or personality.
Once you know what the second opinion doctor thinks

If it differs from what you've been told, ask the doctor about the differences and possible reasons for the differences.
Asking after he or she gave an opinion rather than before will help keep the previous doctor's opinion from coloring the thoughts of the second opinion doctor.

All the medical records from the doctor who made the suggestion for which you're seeking a second opinion.
All relevant lab, pathology, and radiology reports.
Original tests, not just reports about the tests. This includes pathology slides, x-rays, CT or MRI scans, and ultrasounds.

For tests you took other than blood work, the likelihood is your doctor only has reports about the tests - not the actual results. For instance, if you took a scan, the medical record likely has the report of the specialist who read the scan instead of a copy of the scan itself. If there was a biopsy, there would be a pathologists report rather than a slide of a sample. A top notch doctor will want to see the originals rather than a report. A different pair of eyes looking at the same scan or sample may see something different - or the first report may even be wrong. Mistakes happen.
If your doctor's office cannot get the originals quickly, call the lab or testing facility yourself. It is not unusual for labs and other testing facilities to ship scans and slides overnight.

You will have more of a foundation for asking the right questions.
The more precise your meetings with medical professionals will be because you will have more of an understanding of the words they use.
You will get a greater understanding of the doctor's advice or recommendations.
The better equipped you will be to make tough decisions.

Make sure your list of medications is up to date so you can give a copy to the doctor.
If you haven't already, create a personal medical history form listing your past diseases, operations etc. It will save time completing the doctor's form (or perhaps he or she will allow you to use yours).
Get a recorder to record the conversation if there isn't a recorder on your mobile phone. Witha recording, you can listen to what the doctor said more closely at home.
If you have insurance, be sure to have a copy of your insurance verification card and personal health history form.

discuss all of your questions about your diagnosis and its recommended treatment
Request that the doctor go over your records and test results with you
Your second doctor may also ask that new or additional tests be run
Your second doctor might agree with the original diagnosis, but suggest different treatment options, which means you will have to decide which will work best for you.
Your second doctor might disagree with your original diagnosis completely, which means you may need or want to seek a third opinion, or ask that your two doctors speak to each other about your case.

Rates of discrepancies between doctors vary, and for the most part they do not lead to changes in treatment.
For 30 percent of patients who voluntarily seek second opinions for elective surgery and 18 percent of those whose insurance companies require it, the second doctors disagree with the first.
...many of these ill physicians sought such second, third, fourth and even fifth opinions, consulting experts nationally, even if they had previously been wary of their patients’ pursuing such consultations.
When a patient obtains multiple opinions, confusion can arise over who is responsible in the end.
After all, as patients have said to me, “If I hadn’t seen another doctor, I would have died.”

Kevin's Social Blog