Finding a new primary physician is never easy. And really, considering the role your doctor plays in your life, it shouldn’t be. As the years pass, your doctor will play an even more prominent role in your life than he or she did when you were younger. So knowing how to choose the best doctor for you is really important.
The operative words are, of course, for you. When you choose a doctor, you can’t choose one your daughter or granddaughter thinks you should choose. You can’t choose according to what your nephew thinks, either. That’s not to say you shouldn’t get recommendations or pay attention if a loved one senses a red flag. Of course you should. But ultimately, the decision is about you and your health. So it has to be yours.
How do you make that decision? How do you choose the best doctor for you? By asking yourself – and others – a few questions.
1. Think about the qualities you want your doctor to have.
The first thing you need to think about is what you’re actually looking for in a doctor. What are your expectations? For example, some people like a doctor they can really talk to, not just recite a report. They want someone sympathetic who knows how listen, how to empathize and who shows how much they care. Other people, though, don’t want that level of familiarity with their doctor. For them, the distance in the clinical relationship makes them feel more confident in their doctor’s professionalism.
Some more questions to ask yourself:
- Is it important for me that my doctor be of the same gender I am?
- Do I want an older doctor, or at my age am I comfortable with someone younger?
- Do I need my doctor to have evening hours?
- Is it important that my doctor be part of a medical group or clinic, or is it important to me that he have a private practice?
- Should I look for a doctor who’s affiliated with a certain hospital?
2. Start asking around.
Now that you know what you’re looking for, you can start networking. If you’re on a managed health care plan – an HMO or PPO – then that narrows things down to the doctors in your network. Most of these plans will give you background information and the credentials of the doctors who work with them.
Ask friends, family and other medical professionals if they know doctors who answer your requirements. If you live in an assisted living community, be sure to ask the staff and management there, too. They tend to have experience with a variety of primary physicians, and one thing you definitely need is a doctor who knows how to work well with the medical team at your place of residence.
3. Look for red flags.
Once you’ve narrowed your list down to a few possibilities, start checking out each physician’s record. This is going to be a bit complicated and time-consuming, but it’s crucial. You don’t want a physician who’s spent more time in malpractice court than in the clinic.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Start with the Federation of State Medical Boards data website. Look up the doctor in question and write down all the information.
- Next, use the AMA’s Doctor Finder website to find all of the states where that doctor has been licensed. If the doc’s license has been suspended, that’s a big warning flag.
- Do an online search for the doctor in question. Put his name in quotes so that Google will search only for that name and any other keywords you type in: “Dr. John Doe malpractice”, for example. But be careful: Lots of docs have the same name, so double-check the other information you have so you don’t get confused. If this is already confusing, ask a friend or relative to help you out.
Important note: You must check across state lines. The thing is this: A doctor could lose their license in one state, move to another state, get re-licensed and start all over again with a clean record. That’s why you need to check every single state where each doctor worked, even though it’s a real pain. And a word about malpractice: Do not disqualify a doctor because they were once sued. Many doctors get sued when a patient dies or does not recover well from surgery, even if they were not at fault. So find out what happened.
4. Now you’re ready to choose the best doctor for you.
Armed with all that information, choose the doctor you think is the best fit for you. Call their office and ask the staff questions about office hours, availability and payment plans. Does the doctor accept emails and/or phone calls after hours? If so, does he or she charge for that service? How can the doctor be contacted in case of an emergency? While you’re on the phone, try to get a sense of what the office staff is like. You don’t want a great doctor with an obnoxious receptionist.
If the answers to those technical questions are ones you either like or can live with, make a “first-impressions” appointment. You might be charged for it, but it’s a good investment because it will give you the opportunity to make your own judgments about the doctor.
At that appointment, ask the doc any questions you still might have. Some to think about: Do they see a lot of older patients? Are they willing to share information with other medical professionals you might need to see, upon your request? If there is a medical crisis, are they willing to cooperate with other members of your medical team?
When you leave the office, sit down and take note. Was the doctor attentive? Were they respectful? Did they let you speak at your own pace, or did they try to rush you unfairly? Were you comfortable? If you had to ask the doctor to repeat themselves, did you feel awkward about doing so?
And don’t feel you have to go through your whole list. If the first or second doctor fits the bill, stop there: you successfully chose the best doctor for you!
Now let’s hope you stay so healthy you never need their services…