Ask before surgery if necessary

Patients should always inquire about the need for surgery prior to scheduled surgery

07/11/2014

When a doctor advises on surgery, patients should always inquire as to their need. According to experts, many surgical interventions are carried out in Germany, without this being necessary from a medical point of view. Often physicians do not advise their patients about alternative treatment methods, which are usually gentler. Regina Behrendt, health expert from the consumer center North Rhine-Westphalia, advises in an interview with the news agency „dpa“ to get a second opinion on uncertainties.

Surgery is often not the only treatment option
Before a plannable surgery, patients should be well informed. „Ask what are the opportunities and risks involved, "the expert said, noting patients not only about the immediate impact of the procedure, but also about the long-term effects, such as the use of an artificial joint Physician is legally obliged to comply with his obligation to inform and inform his patient. „This always has to take place in a personal conversation. "It is not enough to provide the patient with written information. „And the conversation is only over when I no longer have any questions as a patient, "says Behrendt.

Patients should be well prepared to talk to the doctor, for example, by making a note of their questions beforehand. So according to the health expert, an important question to the doctor: „What happens if I do not have the operation performed? "Behrendt also advises that you seek a second medical opinion to be more confident about the necessity of the procedure. „Some health insurance companies explicitly support this with a pool of doctors who are familiar with the field. "

New study on treatment numbers raises questions about the need for many surgeries
The number of in-patient treatments in German clinics increases by around 220,000 to 340,000 every year. At the same time, the population size remains almost constant. This is what Hamburg and Berlin researchers found out in a study commissioned by law. Accordingly, interventions on the spine, pain therapies and heart valve surgery are among the therapies with particularly high rates of increase. However, this phenomenon is not attributable solely to the aging population, according to the study.

In an international comparison, Germany occupies second place behind Austria in terms of treatments per capita in the OECD.