A recent New York Times article by Gina Kolata, was written to address the anxiety-provoking issues that patients endure while waiting for the results of radiological scans. Have you ever had a CT or PET scan and had to wait days to receive the report? Waiting for the results of a scan is stressful under any circumstances but for cancer patients who frequently need scans to check on the progress of their cancer treatment and are worried whether or not their treatment regiment is working to eliminate the cancer from their bodies, it’s especially stressful. Waiting can be tortuous!
Is there any reason that results are typically a private communication between a radiologist and referring physician? Is there any reason that patients end up waiting days, sometimes weeks, for their doctors to reveal what the scans showed? Could radiologists actually talk to patients and give them results immediately? What would it be like if you could speak directly to your radiologist after a scan and have the doctor right there to discuss all of the findings with you directly?
Until recently, many people have never considered asking to speak to a radiologist and many referring doctors don’t seem to have relationships with radiologists — they just hand patients a prescription for a scan and let them get it wherever they want.
At SecondOpinions.com, we encourage our patients to communicate with our radiologists after a scan is read. This valuable service has been offered to our clients for quite some time. If a patient has a scan at an imaging center, for example, the Center gets permission from the referring physician for the radiologist to speak directly to the patient. In general, referring physicians welcome this type of interaction between a patient and a radiologist. This direct communication eliminates third party involvement and the patient has the opportunity to discuss all of the information from the radiologist and can address any questions or concerns they have at that time. This interaction alleviates the wait times for receiving a report and reduces the anxiety levels that accompany the lengthy waiting periods. Typically, a referring physician receives a written report from the radiologist and will simply either tell the patient they’re fine or give them a brief explanation from the written report. For many patients this is simply not enough information and they have questions that don’t get answered leaving them very frustrated.
For our patients that need radiological second opinions, SecondOpinions.com connects patients globally to top U.S. physicians in any specialty and sub-specialties. Within hours, patients receive a second opinion from a board certified physician. Patients simply upload their DVD images (MRI, CT etc) to a HIPAA regulated, secure, confidential platform and receive a report in the privacy of their own home or office specialty. Obtaining a second opinion decreases medical errors, saves lives, and keeps healthcare costs down by preventing unnecessary surgeries and procedures. It gives patients the peace of mind they need and deserve. SecondOpinions.com provides a service that is easily accessible and affordable. The convenience and recognized benefits of this service is capturing national attention as patients are becoming more and more insistent on knowing how and why doctors make decisions about their care.
If you are not getting the attention you need from your radiologist, contact us today at www.secondopinions.com or call 855-573-2663.
