Second opinions on elective surgery. The Cornell/New York Hospital study.

Programmes for securing second opinions on elective surgery are designed to help patients make a more informed decision once elective surgery has been recommended. The patient is assessed before surgery is performed, which allows alternatives to be considered. The Cornell/New York Hospital second opinion programme is the only one to have accumulated statistics on voluntary and mandatory programmes. Data from the mandatory programme showed that 18.7% of the 6799 patients screened were no confirmed for surgery. Follow-up data at one year showed that 67.5% of the unconfirmed patients had not in fact had surgery. A cost-benefit analysis showed that for every $1.00 spent there was a benefit of $2.63.