we all want to be polite and civil and don’t want to spark an adversarial relationship. Yet, I feel very strongly that any time a patient raises the issue of a second opinion, a physician should welcome and endorse it.
Absolutely. One, you need all the medical records and any pathology slides or other test results to give to whoever is giving the second opinion. Two, you want the experts to discuss in an open way what the areas of agreement and disagreement are. If you don’t tell your doctor because you’re afraid you’re going to insult him, it’s hard to get the records together and communicate.