读者文摘:如何找到值得信任的医生(5)（在线收听）

The Duke surgeon told us he used a different technique.

杜克外科医生告诉我们，他使用了一种不同的方法。

It was lower risk, and it would spare Pete’s eyesight.

这样做风险更低，而且不会损害皮特的视力。

If your doctor is irritated by your decision to seek a second opinion,

如果你的医生对你寻求其他意见的决定感到恼怒，

as Pete’s local neurosurgeon seemed to be, it’s a red flag that perhaps he or she is not the right fit.

就像皮特当地的神经外科医生那样，那么这是一个危险的信号，可能他或她不是合适的人选。

Smart doctors won’t feel threatened or offended, says Robert Arnold, MD, chair of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Doctor-Patient Communication.

匹兹堡大学医患交流研究所所长、医学博士罗伯特·阿诺德说，聪明的医生不会觉得受到威胁或冒犯。

“They know that once you get that second opinion and come back, it’s way better,

他们知道，一旦你得到第二个意见，回来后情况就会好很多，

because you will both be on the same page about the best way to move forward,” he says.

因为你们在前进的最佳方式上意见一致，”他说。

To prepare for Pete’s appointment at Duke, I started reading up on meningiomas.

为了皮特到杜克大学医学中心就诊做准备，我开始阅读脑膜瘤的相关资料。

I tried to stick to fact-based websites published by academic medical centers, such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and the Mayo Clinic.

我试着坚持使用学术医疗中心发布的基于事实的网站，比如约翰·霍普金斯、哈佛和梅奥诊所。

I also looked for condition-specific websites, especially those staffed with medical professionals.

我还搜索了一些针对特定疾病的网站，尤其是那些配备了医疗专业人员的网站。

It may sound obvious, but being well prepared for appointments can help maximize what little time you have with your doctors

这听起来似乎是显而易见的，但做好预约的准备可以帮助你最大限度地利用与医生在一起的有限时间，

and perhaps give them insights into your case they might not otherwise receive.

而且可能会给他们一些他们通常不会接受的关于你的情况的见解。

You should do your homework about your doctors too.

你也应该做关于你医生的功课。

While they may believe they are unbiased, physicians are not immune to money or gifts

尽管医生们可能认为自己是公正的，

(including meals or speaking fees) they receive from pharmaceutical or medical-device companies.

但他们也躲不开从制药或医疗设备公司获得的金钱或礼物(包括餐费或演讲费)。

A ProPublica analysis found that doctors who take such payments are two to three times more likely to prescribe brand-name drugs compared with those who don’t.

据ProPublica公司的一项分析，拿这些报酬的医生开名牌药的可能性是不拿这些报酬的医生的两到三倍。

You can look up how much money your doctor has received (and from whom) on ProPublica’s Dollars for Docs site

你可以在ProPublica的金钱医生网站（projects.propublica.org/docdollars）和联邦政府的公开支付网站上（openpaymentsdata .cms.gov）

(projects.propublica.org/docdollars) and the federal government’s Open Payments site (openpaymentsdata .cms.gov).

查看你的医生收了多少钱(以及从谁那里收了多少钱)。

If your doctor is listed, that doesn’t mean he or she has done anything wrong.

如果你的医生在名单中，那并不意味着他或她做错了什么。

But you may want to ask whether the medications you are taking are made by those companies

但你可能会问，你正在服用的药物是否是这些公司生产的，

and whether there are any cheaper generic alternatives.

以及是否有更便宜的通用替代品。