title: Second opinions on elective surgery. The Cornell/New York Hospital study.
abstract: Programmes for securing second opinions on elective surgery are designed to help patients make a more informed decision once elective surgery has been recommended. The patient is assessed before surgery is performed, which allows alternatives to be considered. The Cornell/New York Hospital second opinion programme is the only one to have accumulated statistics on voluntary and mandatory programmes. Data from the mandatory programme showed that 18.7% of the 6799 patients screened were no confirmed for surgery. Follow-up data at one year showed that 67.5% of the unconfirmed patients had not in fact had surgery. A cost-benefit analysis showed that for every $1.00 spent there was a benefit of $2.63.
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010358:Patient Participation; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000191:economics*; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000191:economics