| In this article today I would like to talk about several | | | | treatment or surgery. It's better to understand the |
| tips, tricks, and techniques that you can use to | | | | rationale behind the recommendation sometimes than it |
| determine what to do when your doctors disagree | | | | is to understand the recommendation itself. |
| with each other over things like surgery or a major | | | | The next thing you should do is ask another doctor to |
| diagnosis. | | | | evaluate the first doctor's advice because one doctor |
| Whenever your doctor suggests that she should have | | | | can often spot weaknesses in the reasoning behind |
| major surgery, you should always get a second | | | | what the other doctor suggested. Try to get the first |
| opinion. You should also get a second opinion when | | | | doctors suggestion in writing so that you can be as |
| you think that your doctor may have diagnosed you | | | | complete as possible when giving all the information |
| incorrectly for any number of reasons. We all know | | | | needed to the second doctor. |
| this, we've heard it all before. What happens when the | | | | Sometimes you simply have to follow the money. We |
| second doctor contradicts the first one? No one really | | | | don't like to think of it but doctors often times do have |
| know what to do then. Who should you trust? | | | | financial incentives and sometimes, not all the time, they |
| It gets even trickier... sometimes two doctors can | | | | can suggest treatment that is not necessarily needed |
| suggest two different things and both of them can be | | | | in order to bulk up their own revenues. Under managed |
| correct because medicine is complicated and it is | | | | care this is less likely to happen but under traditional |
| possible for two doctors to say two different things | | | | fee-for-service health insurance it has been known to |
| and both be right. So what do you do? | | | | happen, so be very aware of it. |
| The first thing you should do is always do your own | | | | Finally you may just have to simply go with your own |
| research. You're not going to become an expert like a | | | | gut feeling. Some medical questions don't have a right |
| doctor who has decades of experience, but you can | | | | or wrong answer and you may have to just go with |
| get a good handle on exactly what is involved and get | | | | your own instincts more than anything else and hope |
| an idea about who knows more about your particular | | | | for the best. |
| problem. The more you know, the better questions | | | | So there you have several very simple tips that you |
| you'll be able to ask your doctor. | | | | can use to figure out whether your doctor is correct |
| Next you should always ask for explanations. Ask | | | | and decide what to do about it if they aren't. |
| why the doctor has recommended a particular test or | | | | |