you and your doctor WORKING AS A TEAM
Are You Getting the Best Care? Why you should never think twice about getting a second opinion. By Emily Hines
Barb Newman, a 56-year-old assistant coordination manager, was hurting. Over the past six months, she had developed a pain in her right knee that was so bad, she was having trouble walking and driving. “It was just constant pain. I was at the point where I could not handle it anymore,” says Newman. So she made an appointment with an ortho- pedic surgeon to try to get some answers. The surgeon took one look at her MRI and
concluded it was osteoarthritis. He recom- mended surgery. Instead of feeling relief, Newman, who had no history of knee pain or arthritis, had her doubts. With only her gut to guide her, she decided to get a second opinion.
Barb Newman
DO A GUT CHECK Newman has always been one to trust her instincts, but not every patient feels as comfort- able taking the reins at the doctor’s office. For many, choosing to seek a second opinion can be a nerve-wracking experience. You don’t want to offend your doctor, but maybe you’re troubled by the treatment plan, or even the diagnosis. And, like Newman, all you usually have to go on is your intuition. Believe it or not, doctors
At the Cleveland Clinic, doctors uniformly
“If a patient is thinking, ‘Should I get a second
want you to get a second opinion, and your gut reaction is the only—and best—reason you need. “If a patient is thinking, ‘Should I get a second opinion?’ they’ve already answered the question. The answer is always going to be yes,” says Jonathan Schaffer, M.D., M.B.A., managing director of
eClevelandClinic.org, who runs MyConsult, the hospital’s online second opinion service. “It’s a patient’s right.”
20 HEALTHYADVICE.COM
opinion?’ they’ve already answered the question. The answer is always going to be yes.”
recognize the importance of getting a second opinion, and many hospitals nationwide are following suit. “There was a time when a request for a second opinion might be interpreted as lack of trust or confidence. We rarely see that these days,” says Mark C. Pettus M.D., F.A.C.P., chief of medi- cine at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, and author of The Savvy Patient. “I would never discourage a second opinion —under any circumstance. And in general, I encourage patients to be much more proactive in that way.”
IS YOUR DOC THE RIGHT FIT? Newman opted for a second opinion because she felt her doctor wasn’t the right fit. He was in and out of the room, stayed standing instead of sitting, and talked to her for only a few minutes. Besides feeling rushed, Newman wasn’t impressed with
ILLUSTRATIONS BY VIVIENNE FLEISCHER
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