Will asking for a second opinion offend my doctor?

Pediatrician and Author Cara Natterson, MD, shares advice on when it is best to seek a second opinion from a doctor and how to do so in a way that will not offend your primary doctor
Will Asking For A Second Opinion Offend My Doctor
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Will asking for a second opinion offend my doctor?

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There are lots of reasons to think about asking for a second opinion; if you get a new diagnosis that is confusing to you; if you want someone different to go through all of the medical information, just put a fresh pair of eyes on it. These are all reasons to go and talk to someone and get a second idea about what's going on. Sometimes what you want is not a second opinion, it's a second conversation with a doctor you already trust. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call your regular doctor and say, "I want to go through it with you one more time. Can we carve ten minutes or half an hour and go through the information?" My most important piece of advice is if you ask your doctor, "Can I get a second opinion?" and they say, "No." That's probably a doctor you may think twice about seeing because we are not the be all and end all. Sometimes having more cooks in the kitchen is a good thing. It should not automatically be a bad thing.

Pediatrician and Author Cara Natterson, MD, shares advice on when it is best to seek a second opinion from a doctor and how to do so in a way that will not offend your primary doctor

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Cara Natterson, MD

Pediatrician & Author

Cara Natterson, MD has treated thousands of children and guided their parents as well. She was a partner at Tenth Street Pediatrics in Santa Monica, California, a large group practice serving infants, children and teenagers. She now runs Worry Proof Consulting, the first of its kind pediatric practice that offers parents open-ended time to review everything from medical questions and biology basics to child development and parenting issues. Cara is also the author of several books on parenting and child health. She has a unique ability to translate cutting edge research into understandable terms for parents and their kids. More recently, Cara’s consulting has extended beyond individual families to include fortune 500 companies seeking expert advice on safety issues, child health, and crisis management.

Cara has appeared on television, in print, and on the web. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and she trained in pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco. Cara is a Board certified pediatrician and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. And anyone who knows her knows that Cara is, by nature, one of the most risk-averse people on earth. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

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