In all medical specialities there are subspecialities. The reason for this is that the medical field has grown so wide that there is no longer a possibility for a doctor to be fully updated and competent in all fields, not even within their speciality. Therefore, the specialists choose their subspecialities to enhance their cutting-edge expertise in a more narrow part of their speciality. Whether or not they also master other fields within their speciality, varies from one specialist to another.
What if I am scheduled an operation of my shoulder, would an orthopedist do a good enough job on arthropscopic shoulder surgeries, or is the orthopedist most competent on foot surgeries? This is impossible for the patient to know. It is only the health personnel that works on the facility who knows this, including the specialist him or herself.
Some specialists reserves their right to treat or operate patients with sufferings that is outside the specialists core competence, to a certain degree. However, this is very hard to avoid with regards to work in shifts. Not all have such an approach. Some specialists find it interesting to treat or operate conditions they do not carry out as often, even though it perhaps is not in the best interest of the patient. At smaller hospitals the cause can be that fewer or no doctors have the cutting-edge expertise in mind, so other specialists have to do the surgeries on conditions that they do not feel fully competent in doing. In these cases, the best alternative would be to refer the patient to another treatment facility with the actual expertise.
Norsk pasientskadeerstatning (NPE) receives yearly over 6000 applications concerning mishandling or treatment that wasn´t carried out successfully. This shows how important it is that the correct specialist is at the right facility at the right time, even though one cannot reduce unfortunate mistakes that sometimes happen without reason.
So how to assess whether the doctor who is treating me has enough competence regarding my condition or disease?
The answer is to ask for a second opinion. It is not always easy to ask for a second opinion at the original treatment facility, since patients do not want to show they are sceptic to the doctor’s competence, especially if the doctor is the one that is going to treat you. Often it is also more demanding for another specialist at the same department to acknowledge that a colleague has done an insufficient job.
This is where Medpartner comes in to the picture. Medpartner has a wide network of specialists within all medical fields. They have specialized in second opinion of planned, ongoing and reviewed medical treatments. Their assessments are carried out by independent doctors who has cutting-edge expertise regarding your actual disease or injury. If Medpartner finds out that the treatment you have received is not according to good medical practice, they will refer you to a medical facility where they are sure there is a subspecialist who specialises on your case or who is acknowledged in their medical field and can show great results of medical treatments.
If you want Medpartner to review your case, call us today.