Whether it is a heart disease, cancer or a tumor, you should not receive news of a devastating disease from just one person. Many patients suffer from medical malpractice because they believe everything their doctor tells them to and goes along with any treatment they suggest. It isn’t to say that all medical professionals shouldn’t be trusted, they worked and trained hard to get to where they are at. However, you do have to remember that they are still capable of making mistakes just like any other worker.
A recent study suggests that medical malpractice may be the third leading cause of death in the nation. This could be even more frequent than death by gun shots or motor vehicle accidents. To confirm that what the doctor told you was true, one of the most important actions to take is to seek out a second opinion. Given the amount of doctors out there, you may have difficulty narrowing down your options, so consider asking the following people to help you in the right direction:
The New Mexico Medical Society (NMMS)
The state’s medical society has a website that allows patients to look up physicians based on their medical specialty, zip code and name. Each doctor on here has their workplace, medical school, work history and contact information such as their phone numbers and emails. This is arguably one of the best places to find doctors in the state, so just type in your criteria to see if there are any close doctors that should be right for you.
Your health insurance
Whether you are on family or your employer’s health insurance plan, these companies do have a list of doctors in various specialties that can help you diagnose your condition. The BlueCross BlueShield of New Mexico website allows you to search for potential doctors or hospitals online and provides worthwhile suggestions of what questions to ask and what to consider for your case.
A friend or family doctor
With all the medical malpractice stories out there, you still might be hesitant even if the doctor is well-recommended online. If you have family or a friend who have had a similar condition to you in the past, see if the doctors they went to are still around. If they no longer have that disease, you might feel more comfortable going to someone you know helped cure someone in your state.
Be careful not to wait too long to get this second opinion to the point where your disease has worsened and or you are already taking the treatment the first doctor gave you. If you have, it is still good to get a second opinion regardless to see if your condition is getting better or you did not have that major disease to begin with. If it is the latter, you could be losing a lot of money off of a doctor’s mistake and should seek legal assistance from a medical malpractice attorney.