Easy to understand information about Interventions for which a second opinion procedure is possibleoffers the Foundation for Quality and Efficiency in Health.
If additional testing makes sense, your doctor will discuss the following with you:
- After completing the assessment, the second examiner will inform you whether or not he or she considers the planned procedure to be medically necessary and whether there are any treatment alternatives that you may choose.
- You are then free to decide which treatment is best in your opinion, for example you can cancel a planned operation date.
- If you wish, you will receive a written summary report, which can also be sent to the attending physician upon request.
How do I find second opinion doctors?
If you wish to seek a second medical opinion, you should contact a doctor who approved for the structured second opinion procedure they are.
These second opinion doctors have to particularly qualified and independent to be and need a Approval of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians.
For approval, doctors must meet certain requirements Second opinion policy demonstrate specified requirements. The second opinion cannot be obtained from the doctor or the establishment where the procedure will be performed.
You can check which doctors are authorized to give a second opinion for the respective procedure due to their special qualifications and independence in the On-Call Medical Assistance Website.
Second opinion as an extra from health insurance companies
Statutory health insurance companies are authorized to enroll their policyholders next operations regardless of the structured procedure second medical opinions for other diagnoses pay voluntarily. Therefore, ask your health insurance company about this service.
One-third of health insurance companies allow patients with a Cancer diagnosis an additional evaluation by experts.
The process of the second opinion procedure varies from health insurance company to health insurance company. Many recommend their members to certain online portals with which they cooperate. Here, medical documents are uploaded to the portal and checked. Other health insurance companies arrange an appointment with cooperating specialists.
In addition to health insurance companies, there are also private specialist clinics that specialize in second opinions. However, patients have to pay for this themselves.
The quality of the second opinion
Second opinion procedures must comply with specific quality requirements: both in terms of… assessment himself just like this Doctors’ Qualificationsthat they donate. However, these requirements only apply to the above-mentioned operations as part of the statutory second opinion procedure. For all other second opinion procedures there are no specific requirements.
Therefore, you may not be able to get an independent second opinion. In hospitals, for example, economic interests also play a role. The board is therefore often influenced by commercial interests.
On the other hand, this also applies to second opinions from health insurance companies. Here, “cooperating experts” or online portals could advise against expensive interventions. You should therefore ask the health insurance company why insurance experts are particularly qualified to assess the respective treatment. You should also clarify directly with the insurer whether any costs will arise and when you can expect the second expert opinion.