Second Opinion Consultation

Second opinions are your right as a patient, and many doctors encourage them. Your insurance company or health plan may even require a second opinion for certain conditions or procedures.

Here are some important reasons to seek the opinion of a second doctor:

• You’ve been diagnosed with a serious illness or condition, or a rare or life-threatening disease.
• You have multiple medical problems and could benefit from easy coordination of care among different specialists.
• Your doctor is recommending major surgery and you are wondering if there are other options.
• You are interested in minimally invasive options that your surgeon cannot provide.
• You want more complete answers to questions you have about your condition.
• A doctor has recommended treatment that has serious potential risks or side effects, or that is excessively expensive, and you need help evaluating alternative approaches.
• Your diagnosis is difficult to pin down, and you need an additional opinion or access to more sophisticated technology to be certain.
• Your current treatment is not working.

You may want to bring the following list of questions to your second opinion consultation:

• Is there any chance that my diagnosis might be different?
• If the second opinion differs from the initial one, what is the reasoning behind the second physician’s opinion?
• What alternative treatments are available?
• How long can I put off treatment, and what will happen if I don’t pursue treatments?
• What risks or side effects are associated with any recommended treatment?
• How is the treatment plan expected to improve my health or quality of life?

Call us for a second opinion consultation:

Toll Free: 1-877-YALEMDS (925-3637)  Local: 203-785-4851