choosing a doctor

What's up with your doc?

Whether you are choosing from a managed care list of physicians, going out of a network on a POS plan or seeking a private doctor, look for the following attributes:

• Experience
  Find out about the doctor's training, accreditation, board certification and experience.
• Reputation
  Several online resources can help:
• Healthgrades.com offers quality-of-care report cards on physicians as well as hospitals. Visit them at http://www.healthgrades.com/
• Certifieddoctor.org gives you access to information on all physicians certified by The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Check out the files at http://certifieddoctor.org/
• AMA Physician Select provides authenticated information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States. Browse the files at http://www.ama-assn.org/aps/
• Past Problems
  If you want to find out about past complaints or disciplinary actions against a specific doctor, you may call your state medical licensing board.

Closing the deal:

Meeting with your potential physician

After you have done your homework, you will have a list of potential doctors to choose from. Since nothing beats face-to-face interaction, it's a good idea to set up an appointment to meet with each physician to become better acquainted. This allows you to interview the doctors and determine whether or not you feel confident placing your health care needs in their hands. While you're there, find out if each one has experience with your particular health conditions. Keep in mind that you will probably have to pay for these appointments, so be sure to find out what the cost will be in advance.

The importance of a healthy attitude

If a physician balks at the idea of a preliminary interview visit, take it under consideration when making your final decision. Are you sure you want to partner with a doctor who doesn't have time to listen to your concerns?

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