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A second opinion with Consilium. Before you decide.
Consilium® is the first independent second opinion centre on the Costa Blanca, at Clinica Austria in Altea. It is for anyone who wants to understand their illness and the treatment options properly before deciding on a therapy.
The clinic is closed right now. You can reach Dr. Edlinger directly on this number.
- Clinic
- Open Mon to Fri
- Opening hours
- Mon to Fri, 9 am to 1 pm
- Phone
- +34 966 882 449
- Evenings, weekends, emergencies
- +34 637 803 404 Dr. Edlinger’s mobile
Dr. Edlinger guides you like a coach
Consilium® is a service of Clinica Austria. Dr. Martin Edlinger set it up at the suggestion of many of his patients.
Based on your existing medical records and a clinical examination, he gives you recommendations for further diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Edlinger is not tied to any hospital or medical institution and is completely independent. He chooses the specialists he brings in from an international network. This gives your second opinion a sound medical basis.
- Independentnot tied to any hospital or other medical institution
- International network of specialistscarefully chosen for your particular question
- Afternoon appointmentswith plenty of time, so there is room for every detail
- An eye on your medicationwe check it for interactions
Where and how do I book?
Second opinions are arranged through Clinica Austria in Altea.
Bring copies of your records
To arrange a first appointment, it is best to give us copies of all the records you have: previous reports, lab results, X-rays and MRI scans.
Review and appointment
We look through your records free of charge and then give you an appointment. These appointments are always in the afternoon and allow plenty of time, so that we can go through every detail with you.
Short assessment
During a short assessment phase we bring in selected, recognised specialists where needed. We also check your medication for interactions and adjust it if you are taking more than you need. Our aim: as few side effects as possible.
Diagnosis and treatment
After a prompt assessment of your condition, we make a well-founded diagnosis. We then discuss the best treatment with you.
When hospital treatment is not going well
If a hospital stay is not going well, Dr. Martin Edlinger can visit you in hospital.
Usually a workable solution can then be found. Sometimes it is enough to clear up misunderstandings, sometimes it takes a talk with the doctors in charge and the hospital management, and sometimes the diagnosis and treatment have to be rethought.
After hospital
When you leave hospital, precise instructions from the ward doctor treating you are extremely important for your recovery. In some cases, misunderstandings can be life-threatening.
In our experience, few patients are given full information, spoken and written, about the next steps and the risks when they are discharged. They are rarely given medication to take home, and many do not recognise the prescriptions they are handed as prescriptions. Add to that a foreign language or poor hearing. All of this can mean that the treatment fails once you are at home.
We therefore strongly advise every patient to see their GP straight after a hospital stay. Your GP knows you best and can check the treatment recommendations and your medication and explain them to you again.
If you have to travel home straight away
Even then, it is essential to contact your GP first. Your GP will check whether you are fit to travel and recommend a suitable means of transport.
If you need help for a while
In that case, Dr. Edlinger will try to arrange help for you, during the day or around the clock.
What a second opinion can achieve
A recent analysis by the German health insurer Techniker Krankenkasse and a study by the Mayo Clinic in the USA show how often a second look changes things.
- 89%
- of participants with back pain did not have surgery after the second opinion, nor in the year that followed
- 21%
- of patients referred to the Mayo Clinic by their GP were given a completely different diagnosis there
Before an operation on the back, knee or hip
Techniker Krankenkasse offers its members a second opinion at 25 pain centres in Germany before they have back surgery or receive an artificial knee, hip or shoulder joint. There, a team made up of a pain specialist, a physiotherapist and a psychologist reviews the recommendation for surgery.
For back pain, the team advised 89 per cent of participants against surgery, and they did not have an operation in the following year either. For hip replacements, 59 per cent of the operations were not needed in the year after the second opinion. In the insurer’s view, many patients can manage for longer without an artificial knee joint by building up their muscles in a targeted way.
“The evaluations of our existing second opinion service in pain centres show that 85 per cent of the procedures are not necessary at the present time.”
The diagnosis often changes, too
The Mayo Clinic analysed the cases of 286 patients whose GP had referred them there for a second opinion. The original diagnosis was confirmed in only 12 per cent. In 66 per cent it was refined, and in 21 per cent it was changed completely.
A review of 33 studies paints a similar picture. In most cases the second opinion confirms the first. In the individual studies, however, the opinions differed in up to 58 per cent of cases by so much that it could significantly affect the further course of care.
Sources: Techniker Krankenkasse, press release of 7 July 2026. Van Such et al., Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 2017 (Mayo Clinic, patients from 2009 and 2010). Greenfield et al., BMJ Open, 2021.
Ask for a second opinion
Call us or write to us. Please bring copies of all your records to your first appointment.