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Why should a patient receive a second opinion?
When to consult: before starting treatment, or if difficulties arise?
Procedure for obtaining a second opinion
WHAT IS THE SECOND OPINION?
Second opinion is a service that implies the opportunity of providing the patient with an additional consultation of a doctor to assess the results of diagnosis.
This is often necessary to clarify the diagnosis or treatment tactics. In fact, the second opinion is a kind of expert assessment of the patient’s condition, which is conducted by a qualified specialist.
This service helps not only to correctly and accurately interpret the received medical information, but also to improve the quality of patient treatment.
To obtain a second opinion, the patient can, either directly get consultation face-to-face with a specialist (or by the results of a consilium), and also using telecommunications, i.e. remotely. Distance or remote consultation can be conducted online (via videoconference in the presence of an interpreter and a doctor) or with the patient receiving the details in writing.
WHY DOES A PATIENT NEED AN OPINION OF ANOTHER SPECIALIST?
- Patient doubting to earlier conclusions and want to confirm the diagnosis;
- Need to clarify the plan of treatment tactics (for example, surgical treatment);
- Need for long-term drug therapy;
- Confirmation of the stage and prevalence of the cancer process;
- Inefficiency of previously prescribed treatment (therapy);
- Complex and rare diagnoses.
WHEN IT IS NECESSARY TO GET THE SECOND OPINION?
Getting a second opinion is better before the start of therapy or before the selected surgical procedure. In the case of an already taken, but ineffective treatment, applying for a second opinion makes sense only if the purpose of this opinion is to make sure that the process of diagnosis and the prescribed therapy was the right one. In this case, there is a high chance that the patient will be asked to undergo some diagnostic procedures that will help the doctor in understanding fresh data about the patient’s current condition.
WHAT’S THE PROCEDURE: FROM CHOOSING A DOCTOR, TILL THE PROCESS OF DOCUMENTATION?
You can get a second opinion from a doctor of any specialty. According to the statistics, most often used are the services of oncologists (to clarify the stage and / or tactics of further treatment), neurosurgeons (to clarify the need for surgical correction of pathology), radiologists (for revision of CT, MRI, PET CT, expert opinion in electronic format) , cardiac surgeons.
Basics of choosing a doctor are absolutely the same as when choosing a doctor for treatment, you can get an opinion from any specialist, keeping in account his schedule. For remote consultation it is necessary to provide fresh medical documents.
The volume of documents may vary depending on the diagnosis of the patient and the complexity of the situation – this is discussed individually before the consultation.
However, there is a strict list of requirements that patients’ examinations and discharge statements must meet. Documents should be:
- In a printed format (handwritten document are not accepted for consideration);
- Validity period (the validity period is determined individually depending on the patient’s diagnosis, some blood tests lose their relevance after several days);
- Computerized (sent in electronic format): this concerns images of CT, MRI, X-ray, mammography, PET CT and so on;
- Translated into English, but more preferably in the language of the country in which the consultation will take place (applies to all documents other than the patient’s passport);
- * Note: A remote online consultation will require a high-speed Internet connection.
How much does the service cost?
The cost of obtaining a second opinion varies depending on the chosen country and the level of the doctor who will advise. The price for a consultation “second opinion” can range from 150 to 350 USD in Turkey, within 800-1,500 USD in Israel, within 500 Euros in Austria.
We can book consultation with any specialist you are interested in by leaving a request on the site. MedicGlobus takes care of all organizational issues related to obtaining a second opinion online or offline at the request of the patient. Our services are FREE, you pay only for consultation directly to the clinic.
