Plastic Surgery: Q&A
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Do Doctors Actually Let Potential Patients Connect with Previous Patients?
I've heard several people advice that the patient ask to talk to other patients. Isn't there a confidentiality thing? I mean, do doctors actually connect you to previous patients to talk to?
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8 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
usernameless
in la jolla, ca
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Personal patient testimonials or reviews
When current patient's make such a request, I contact other previous patients who have had the procedure and ask if they would be willng to speak with a prospective surgical candidate. Many are more than willing to share their experiences as they recall similar anxiety while going though the same process themselves.
From your standpoint, however, I am more likely to select a patient who has a positive attitude and great experience and so you should take this attestation with a grain of...
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Patients speaking with other patients
Some patients I have met in consultation, ask to speak to patients that I have previously operated on. I will always call the patients that I operated on to ask permission fromt hem first. And, if they are OK with it, I will have them call the new prospective patient to protect their privacy.
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Letting Patients Speak to Each Other
Occasionally I have had patients who are considering surgery want to speak to other post operative patients. The post operative patients that are willing to do this are given the asking patients number and call them. A real or fake first name only are given. However, most patients after surgery just want to get on with their lives and speaking to other patients doesn't benefit them. So finding patients isn't always easy. But I don't think it's an unreasonable request.
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Is it possible to talk to former patients?
Hi there-
What could possibly be more valuable to you as a prospective patient than to talk to someone else who has had the same procedure you are considering done by the same surgeon? This is absolutely valuable and possible- and there are ways to protect the privacy of the prior patient if they prefer.
I can tell you (proudly) that this is really not an issue for the patients who have agreed to speak to others in my practice- they are usually only too happy to talk to others about their...
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Patient to patient contact
I believe that patient to patient contact is much better than simpy looking at photos. Photos can be misinterptreted and may or may not apply to you situation. They also do not tell if the patient is happy with their results.
If a patient needs reassurance or wants to know about a procedure or my services. I do not hesitate to put them in touch with former patient that might have similar concerns. I tell patients that their situation and their potential surgeries may or may not mirror...
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Do doctors actually let potential patients connect with previous patients?
Some of our patients feel it is their duty to ease the fears and concerns of other women who are contemplating surgery. We have many such patients who volunteer to speak to other patients and answer questions some may not feel comfortable asking the surgeon and we are truly grateful for such special people.
Peter A Aldea, MD
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Talking with prior patients
It can be very helpful for a patient contemplating a procedure to talk with someone who has been through the experience. It helps to allay fears and many patients (especially women) will discuss the effects that a procedure has had on their personality and relationships. Oftentimes this is just a telephone discussion, but sometimes patients will meet and discuss these matters as well. In hair transplantation I have had men and women who either view pre and post operative photos or...
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Patients talking to other patients
What I do is have my office ask some of my previous patients if they would be willing to talk to a new patient about their experience, their surgery, their results, and their thoughts about me as their doctor. They are usually quite pleased to do this having been through the difficult process of finding the right doctor themselves. As long as they agree to do this, there are no privacy violations. I would actually be a bit wary of a doctor who refused to offer this service to you.
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