The Value of Second Opinions

When faced with major medical decisions, it’s wise to remember the wisdom of an old health-care adage: Doctors aren’t gods and put their stethoscopes on one ear at a time.

Why? Second opinions can make a difference. Consider these facts:

• 30 percent of women with breast cancer in a University of Michigan study received different treatment or tests after second opinions.
• A 1999 study found that patients treated at Johns Hopkins after a biopsy elsewhere arrived with a completely wrong diagnosis 1.4 percent of the time based on 6,000 cases in the study.

In fact, a second opinion on diagnosis and treatment differs substantially from the first at least 10 percent to 20 percent of the time when people are facing “major, life-threatening, life-altering” conditions. One example from the Johns Hopkins study proves that point. A man diagnosed with cancer of the ear canal actually had a fungal infection.

Other benefits of second opinions include learning about new treatment techniques or getting a different appraisal of risks and benefits. Many people don’t get second opinions for fear of offending their primary-care doctor or specialist. However, medicine is a vast and complex field and no one doctor can know every cutting-edge advance. Medicine also can vary greatly by patient and condition. Ultimately, patients must make the final decision — while the physician’s job is to outline the options and the likely risks and benefits of each choice.

Second options aren’t a magic bullet, either. Patients could end up following their first doctor’s advice. Second opinions also aren’t worth much if given by someone without expertise in your condition. To check the credentials of surgeons, see if they are certified by a surgical board in the appropriate specialty.

The American College of Surgeons recommends patients get answers to these questions from their doctors before agreeing to any operation:

• What are the reasons for the operation?
• What, if any, alternative forms of treatment are available?
• What will be the likely result if I don’t have the operation?
• What are the risks?
• How is the operation expected to improve my health or quality of life?
• Are there likely to be residual effects from the operation?

Helping patients get second opinions – finding the right care with the best outcomes and price – is one of our services at The Benefit Advocates. Call us at 1-800-344-5677 or 721-2029 in Winston-Salem.