Location Recommendation

With Neurofibromatosis Type 2, a condition that results in the need to see multiple doctors following diagnosis, it is important to pick one hospital for all medical needs other than the care needed from a General Practitioner or Pediatrician.

The importance of having all doctors who treat an individual at one hospital cannot be stressed enough. Most large hospitals have gone to a computer system. Web based "Patient Portals" of record keeping so that any physician on and individual's case has access to all records. This information can be accessed by any doctor in the hospital. This prevents such things as double testing but more importantly any one doctor on a case is less likely to miss a crucial piece of information.

Neuro-Ophthalmologist can access recent MRIs and surgeons can access balance information as well as current MRIs. In fact the longer an individual is seen by the same team of doctors in the same Center or Hospital, the longer their histories become and MRIs that are five years apart for example can be compared to see growth or stability over a longer period of time. This in and of itself is very helpful to clinicians reviewing tumor changes over time to determine treatment recommendations. Tumors may not seem to be growing from year to year but when reviewed over a longer time, side by side with digital comparisons in mm, completely different result may become obvious.

When choosing a treatment center it is best that all of the types of doctors be available to a patient and that these doctors are well-versed in the NF2 literature. In addition, staying with an institute if possible can be important for the reasons cited above. However, changing locations for treatment is clearly necessary if an individual has a problem with the level of care received.

Most hospitals are also making their patient records available to the patient so an individual can become proactive in their care rather than just reactive. More and more "Patient Portals" are being developed. These can be used to help your doctors follow your care.