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Discover the importance of asking for a second opinion on your medical studies. Thanks to the era of digitalization, there are no boundaries for exchanging information and consulting more specialists, especially if you require a diagnosis that you have not received, or if the doctor who currently treats you does not give you the information you are looking for to understand your illness.
La Digital age it brings with it many advantages for the health sector that you can take advantage of, such as Communicate with experts from anywhere in the world and exchange documents, images and more. In this regard, it is important that healthcare facilities deliver electronically the Results of laboratory tests, imaging tests, medical reports and diagnoses.
On the basis of this, there are already many public, social or private health centers that have acquired systems for digitize your services and thus provide patients with better care. In fact, there are several countries that are considering as a mandatory requirement the delivery of results of clinical studies in standardized and virtual formats.
On the other hand, the Covid-19 pandemic further reinforced the need to digitize medical studies to avoid crowding of people. Also, many doctors began to do remote inquiries and online so as not to be exposed to the virus. Thanks to this, the services they allow patients have been greatly optimized Consult medical specialists regardless of the distance.
For all this, resort to a Second opinion of medical studies is more viable now than ever, because the online service is available to us on various platforms. Thanks to this, you can confirm diagnoses, treatments and get recommendations from more medical specialists. This does not imply distrusting a specialist that we already have, but rather it is our right consult the doctors we want.
Advantages of asking for a second opinion from medical studies
In short, it can be said that the advantages of seeking a second opinion for your medical studies are:
- Reaffirm diagnoses. When there are invasive diseases or pathologies, as in the case of cancer, it is essential to turn to several experts to get the most appropriate treatment. This can also be valuable with other chronic diseases, or simply if the patient does not see improvements in their condition after a while with the treatment they were prescribed.
- Rule out diseases. Sometimes we have different symptoms, but in the tests the doctor does not identify any diseases. This can mean a real headache for you if the discomfort continues. It's a good idea to validate the information the studies reveal, for example, with a doctor who has a subspecialty in the region of the body where we have discomfort.
- Request more recommendations or a new treatment. Based on the experience you may have with an illness, especially those that are recurrent or chronic, it is quite possible that questions may arise about the treatment indicated by a doctor. You may not feel that the treatment you have been prescribed is the best option for you for a variety of reasons, such as causing certain discomfort or side effects. In this regard, asking for a second opinion is an excellent idea before investing in medications or therapies. Remember that in addition to respecting the authority of the doctor who treats you, it is important that you feel confident that it is the best option for your specific case.
- Wrong diagnoses. Although not commonly reported or known, more than 250 million people in the United States alone die from medical errors. Therefore, a second opinion can help to arrive at better diagnoses.
Where to get a second medical opinion?
Nowadays, there are many ways to ask for a second opinion about your medical studies, due to all the scientific and technological advances. However, it is always advisable that you have a previous recommendation from the specialist in questionn to avoid network scams.
First, you can search for information in Internet, where you will find that different doctors offer their services. There are several medical pages and directories that also include the opinions of other patients. Once you locate a doctor for the specialty you need, it's a good idea to find out who is certified by the national institutes of that specialty.
On the other hand, you can ask your doctor directly if you can recommend another specialist to answer all your doubts. If for any reason you feel that this is not a good option, you can search the directory of the same medical facility where you were treated.
In the case of laboratories or clinics, you can ask if another specialist can provide an interpretation of your clinical imaging studies. The center will be able to inform you if another radiologist you can do a second reading of your studies.
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