First results of a German second opinion program show high patient satisfaction and large discrepancies between initial therapy recommendations and second opinion

Background and objectives: Although legally anchored, there are no empirical results from German second opinion programs. In this study, various aspects within a population of a second opinion program are examined. Methods: In this study patients were analyzed who sought a second opinion in the period from August 2011 to December 2016. Differences in patient characteristics, differentiated by agreement of first and second opinion, were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Patients' satisfaction and quality of life were examined one, three and six months after obtaining the second opinion. Results: In total, 1,414 patients sought a second opinion. Most frequently, second opinions were sought on knee (38.7 %), back (26.8 %), hip (11.7 %), and shoulder (10.2 %) complaints. Except for the indication (p = 0.035), no patient characteristic had influence on the conformation of the second opinion. Approximately two out of three initial recommendations were not confirmed by the specialists. 89 % of the patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the second opinion and the service offered. Conclusions: The second opinion offers patients the opportunity to seek an additional independent medical opinion and thus provides support for decision making. Further research is needed to examine the reasons for the high discrepancies between the first and second opinions.