By John Rossheim | NerdWallet
Why spend the time and expense to get a second opinion in case your physician recommends surgical procedure or they diagnose a severe illness? After all, you’ve been examined, examined and evaluated by an knowledgeable with a few years of coaching.
But the cruel actuality is that misdiagnosis occurs quite a bit — and generally with the gravest penalties. Each 12 months, roughly 371,000 individuals within the U.S. die due to diagnostic error, based on a July 2023 examine within the medical journal BMJ Quality & Safety.
A medical second opinion can improve the probabilities that you simply get the right remedy from the beginning, saving cash, misery and perhaps your life.
“Second opinions are probably the single fastest way to address diagnostic errors today,” says Dr. David Newman-Toker, director of Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Center for Diagnostic Excellence.
Seeing the best specialist or subspecialist could make all of the distinction. “We know [from research] that if a patient with sarcoma is seen at a sarcoma center, their survival is longer,” says Kristen Ganjoo, a medical oncologist who teaches at Stanford University’s School of Medicine.
What is a second opinion, and why is it precious to you?
Second opinions — whether or not to evaluate a surgical procedure advice or a most cancers prognosis — usually require a step-by-step reexamination of a affected person’s case.
The first step is to evaluate the prevailing prognosis, based on Ganjoo. For instance, sufferers may have a pathology evaluate at an establishment that has specialists in sarcomas, she says. “We have a hundred different types of sarcoma, and they’re all treated differently. If a pathologist is not familiar with sarcomas, they may make a mistake in diagnosing patients.”
Next, Ganjoo determines whether or not the affected person wants extra checks, reminiscent of a scan or an evaluation of a tissue pattern for genetic mutations.
Finally, she evaluations the remedy plan and makes any crucial modifications to it, based mostly on all take a look at outcomes and her prognosis.
But second opinions aren’t solely about coming to the right prognosis. They could be about “what’s the best possible treatment for this particular patient at this point in their life,” says Caitlin Donovan, a senior director on the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation, which works to coach and empower well being care customers.
“How can you incorporate quality-of-life concerns and still get the result you want?” says Donovan. “Physicians may differ on that.”
What does a second opinion value, and does insurance coverage cowl it?
Charges for a second opinion range broadly, as does insurance coverage protection.
Some main medical facilities supply a second opinion service at a hard and fast value. A digital second opinion on the Cleveland Clinic prices $1,850. Stanford Medicine fees $700 for a web-based second opinion. The bundle of providers supplied — and the medical employees’s data of specific specialties — range by establishment.
If you’re insured by an employer or by a state or federal medical insurance market, contact your insurer to ask about your protection for second opinions for individuals along with your prognosis.
Medicare could pay at the very least a few of the value of a second opinion when surgical procedure is beneficial. Medicaid presents some protection of second opinions; name your state’s Medicaid workplace for particulars.
You could possibly pay any out-of-pocket prices of a second opinion by your well being financial savings account (HSA) or versatile spending account (FSA).
Financial help for second-opinion bills for sure diagnoses could also be accessible by a wide range of organizations, together with the Patient Advocate Foundation and the Sarcoma Alliance.
If you’re shy about asking for a second opinion
Some sufferers are embarrassed to let their physician know that they’d wish to get a second opinion. But should you do encounter resistance, know that you simply’re pursuing an affordable plan of action.
“Any good physician is going to encourage you to explore your treatment options,” says Donovan.
“Sometimes you just have the wrong clinician,” says Newman-Toker. “They’re overconfident or they’re not interested in asking deeper questions or hearing your concerns as a patient. Then, you just need a new doctor.”
Avoiding misdiagnosis
Newman-Toker presents the following pointers:
- Come to your appointments ready with a easy, printed abstract of your timeline of signs and issues, to go away extra time for dialogue and questions.
- Ask laborious questions, reminiscent of, “What’s the worst thing that this could be, and why is my condition not that,” says Newman-Toker. If the physician bristles, think about going to a different. “You have to rely on asking probing questions to see if your physician is committed to getting it right.”
- After remedy begins, stay vigilant, Newman-Toker says. “Don’t assume that if you don’t get a good result, your treatment needs to be adjusted, rather than your diagnosis reevaluated. Maybe it’s time for a second opinion.”
The article Getting a Second Opinion Can Help Ward Off Misdiagnosis initially appeared on NerdWallet.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”