The odds are in your favor that your diagnosis is correct. After all, the 500,000 medical errors or misdiagnoses made each year are only a small percentage of the total number of medical decisions. But how can you be sure?

It’s your responsibility to figure it out. Often that will require a second opinion. Surprisingly, fewer than one-third of patients who are dealt a difficult diagnosis ever seek a second opinion. But it’s very important you do so!

When you visit your second doctor, make sure he has all the same evidence to review as your first doctor. Provide copies of your previous records and any test results available.

A second opinion will result in one of three outcomes. Both doctors may agree on your diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Or, the second doctor may agree with the diagnosis, but provide you with a different treatment option. Or it could be that there will be disagreement on the diagnosis, in which case there will probably be disagreement on the treatment options, too.

Suppose the doctors differ? Now what?

Let’s start with some "don’ts."

• Don’t assume that the doctor who gives you better news is the correct one. Just because you like the answers better doesn’t mean she is right.
• Don’t assume the second doctor is correct. If the second doctor’s opinion is always the correct one, why did you go to a first?
• Don’t assume that the "nicer" doctor is right either. A doctor with better bedside manner isn’t necessarily a better practitioner.

Here is what you should do in a case of differing medical opinions.

• If the doctors’ opinions are very different, you’ll want to consider getting a third opinion. The third opinion will likely be similar to either doctor #1 or doctor #2, and that will help you make your treatment decisions, too.
• If the doctors are only shades apart in their opinions and recommendations, ask them to discuss your situation with each other. Ask the doctor you prefer to work with to report back to you.