Medical Questions » Doctors Questions » Question No. 282
| Question: | I asked my GP for a referral for a second opinion, and he informed me that he had forwarded my information to the second specialist. I told him I did not like that because I wanted a proper second opinion, not a rehash and a biased opinion backing up the first doctor. Am I being unreasonable? |
| Answer: | No. Your request for a second opinion was completely reasonable, and every patient has the right to obtain further information and options from a second (or even a third) specialist before deciding on a course of treatment.
This is not to say that every patient referred to a specialist should always obtain a second opinion. If you are happy with what you have been told by a doctor, then proceed with his/her advice. But if the proposed procedure is a major one, there are significant possible complications, or if you have a personality clash with the first specialist, by all means seek a second opinion.
Any GP refusing to refer you in person to a specialist of your choice must be able to give you good reasons why such a referral should not be given (eg. your problem does not require specialist care, the specialist does not look after your particular problem, is on holidays, is too expensive or the GP may be concerned about the quality of the specialist' s work).
It is important for patients to be able to trust their GP' s opinion, as well as that of any specialist.
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