Dear Dr. Roach: When I seek a second or even third medical opinion, should I tell the subsequent doctors what the previous one(s) diagnosed? — C.B.
Answer: I understand the thinking that if you say nothing and get the same answer as the previous physician, it makes the answer seem more solid. You don’t want the second-opinion doctor to be “anchored” to the previous diagnosis (this is a well-recognized mistake doctors make, called a cognitive bias).
In general, however, physicians do best when they are given all relevant…
