Here’s the scene. You become ill and visit the doctor. Your physician performs a thorough examination, including tests and X-rays, makes a diagnosis and discusses a treatment plan with you. Because you are a concerned and intelligent patient, you have some natural anxiety. So you ask for a second opinion.
Your doctor understands your concern and arranges for the second opinion. You visit the second physician and, after careful evaluation of your problem, he or she gives you an opinion that is significantly different from the first. What do you do?
This is not an easy question. One option that is often appropriate is to get a third opinion. Many insurance companies are requesting a third opinion and, like the second, they will usually pay for the entire visit. The third opinion, may, of course, agree with one of the first two, or you could receive a different view. Now you’re faced with three contrasting approaches to your problem.
The point is that there is often more than one acceptable solution to a problem. We doctors like to think we know everything about health and disease, but this is not always the case. Sometimes we know a lot about a disease and have developed an ideal way to treat it. However, sometimes we know little about a disease and therefore have several treatments, because we are not certain which is the best method. Each of us has developed “favorite” ways to treat some diseases and these methods become our recommendations to our patients.
Each time your doctor recommends a treatment, you have the option of asking about other ways to treat the problem. Never accept the statement that treatments are “too complicated” for you to understand. It’s your physician’s responsibility to explain your options in language you can understand. If you do not understand, keep asking for the explanation in simpler terms.
Once your doctor has explained the options and you understand them, ask him or her why a particular treatment is favored. Has past experience with this treatment been successful? What about the cost of this treatment versus others viewed as equally good? These are valid questions to ask and you should not be afraid to discuss them.
By the way, explaining the things in uncomplicated terms is not only a medical dilemma. Every profession has its own language. Try talking to computer experts, pilots, accountants, lawyers or just about any other professional about their area of expertise.
I become as frustrated as you when I don’t understand the language. However, it may not be essential that you understand the intricacies of a computer in order to operate it, but it is essential that you understand your options to make informed decisions about your health.
Dr. Michael M. Warren is Ashbel Smith professor of surgery at University of Texas Medical Branch Division of Urology.
