How do you chose a doctor?

I ask around. The potential pit fall is that sometimes people will tell you who they go to, even though that hate that particular doctor or dentist. So you have to ask about that too, and whether the actually see the doctor, or maybe it's a PA or Nurse Practioner that you usually end up with. Ask about waiting times too. Some practices give everyone a 1:00 appointment, and deal with the cattle call at their leisure. This is disrespectfull.

Once you narrow it down, maybe you could schedule a get acquainted appoint at your own cost to see if you're compatable.

At least with my insurance, it is fairly easy to change doctors, but you still don't want to.

I have received one recommendation but I worry a bit that the people who recommended the doctor are considerably older than me. I know it sounds dumb but I wonder if that is the best doctor for a younger person even though she's a GP. But then I think if my older (like 25 years older) friends like her that she is probably patient.

I'm also wondering if I should chose a "family doctor" or if I should chose a doctor for myself, a pediatrician for Mo, and let Mr. B chose a doctor for himself.

Is there a benefit to everyone having the same doctor?

I think with this insurance it would be easier to change doctors but you're right - you really don't want to have to do that.

I absolutely don't want to do the cattle call office!

What kind of questions would you ask during a get acquainted appointment?

Well, the last time I changed doctors, I don't recall asking questions. By the time I saw him, though, I knew his front office staff was personable, and he came pretty close to being on time, so it was not a cattle call. I had scheduled a physical, and by the time it was over, I did know this guy would listen when I talked, and could carry on a conversation.

Anyway, if your first appointment turns out to be with a PA, that might tell you all you need to know. I've had good luck with PAs, by the way, but it does make me suspect I'm in a profit center rather than a doctor's office.

A PA?

Is that a physician's assistant? The office nurse? The one who does the preliminary stuff - blood pressure, etc?

I hate to seem so dense but truly I am. I haven't had the need to deal much with doctors (thank heaven).

I've moved a lot over the past 6 years and that meant finding a new doctor in each new place.

I went through two dud doctors here till I wised up-- when I called the third doctor's office I asked to speak to the office manager. I told her about some of the difficulties I'd had with the previous doctors. She was receptive, helpful and patient and answered all my questions regarding my concerns and what I was looking for in a doctor. She recommended I give him a try, and it's been a good match.

So, do what I did. You can get all the information you need, for the most part, from the office manager. If you don't like their manner, then try another office.

Good idea, Gala. The way the answers are given might tell you more than the answers themselves, if this turns out to be another dud.

Brilliant! I would have never ever thought of asking to speak with the office manager. Thank you.

Without getting too personal -- can you tell me what kind of things you asked?

You're right Roger. If the office manager is a snit, then something is off. The other value in speaking to them is to find out how on the ball they are. This way, when there are billing errors, which happens to me from time to time, I call the OM and she takes care of it right away. It saves a ton of time and frustration.

It's tought ot get a good doctor. They all must graduate from med schools but if I'm having kidney surgery then I was a doctor who got an A+ in kidney surgery!

No, it's not too personal. Here's what I want to know:

How's his/her personality?

Is he arrogant?

Does he like practicing medicine?

Does he listen?

How long has he been practicing?

Is there someway to contact him if I am sick over the weekend?

If the office manager is impatient with these questions then you'll know to look elsewhere. If the office culture/doctor is a good one they will be more than comfortable answering these questions.

I recently switched away from my doctor for that reason. The whole family had the same doctor, and you might remember that I've had to really go head-to-head with sozlet's doctor several times re: ear stuff. I found that it was really hard for me to be his patient after that, especially for stuff like pap smears. <bleh> I wanted to have some kind of authority to advocate for sozlet, and it felt really hard to keep it. I'm sure it was all the same to him and it was just in my own head, but it was an outcome I hadn't predicted.

I think he's a nice guy and a good doctor and I don't feel the need to change sozlet's primary care pediatrician (she already has an ENT for ear crap), but I really relaxed once I found someone else for the more dignity-destroying procedures.

As for finding a doctor, we've had to do it everytime we move and I absolutely hate it. It's a crapshoot. In three moves, we happened across one who was fabulous, one who was awful, and the current just-fine one. (Oh how I miss Dr. Fabulous! She listened.)

I find it hard to get feedback on that one, though it's probably easier if you already know people in the area.

Sites like www.insiderpages.com and www.judysbook.com purport to rate various doctors, too (I don't know how trustworthy they are).

(I like the office manager idea.)

Hmmmm. I'm like Nick. If I'm having kidney surgery, I want the best surgeon.

More than you are asking, but I'll get around to answering..

As it happens, I've had a lucky run - up until now - with doctors over the years. I worked at two great hospitals and heard all the scuttlebutt and knowledgeable friends' recommendations. Didn't go to the doctor as an adult until I needed a gyno for birth control. That guy was fine, but I didn't need to see him all the time. Then I got sore feet walking all around San Francisco for days, and had heard people say how good the chief resident was, and that he was going into an orthopedic practice. I went to him, and he solved my problem with a suggestion of high arched sneakers, back when they didn't even make running shoes for women. It worked - and he wasn't a money making machine.

So, let's see, I needed a dermatologist, and he recommended a woman who turned out to be neat - both sharp and personable. She in turn told me about her dentist, who is still a friend of mine now, and a great dentist; too bad I don't live in W. L. A anymore.

In the meantime, my nurse practitioner friends told me about a superb gynecologist, and I checked him out. Excellent, I stayed going to him for years. He's the one who pushed me to act immediately when I got a recommendation to get a biopsy after a mammogram. I was pushy, and got the biopsy the next day, and the diagnosis two days after that (he calling me at the friend's I was staying with in LA, as I'd moved north but was still seeing my LA md's.) I met with him the next day, then went to lunch with girlfriends, who said, what can we do...

I had called my business partner in northern california, and among other talk, as I was trying to figure out whether to have surgery in LA or northern california, or maybe in the SF area, where I also have some pals, she said, OH, but so and so was soooo happy with a certain breast surgeon, she's one of the best in the country.

So, while at lunch with my old pals, they said, here's the phone...
Shaky, I called that surgeon, who happened to be driving from our area up near Oregon down to Stanford, where she is on staff, and she called me back after she drove out of the mountain-black-out- for cell phones... and said she meet me Tuesday, that being a Friday.

That was the 9/11 week, so my flight home was cancelled and I rented a car and drove back. Met the surgeon on Tuesday, had the surgery on Thursday.

Long story short, she has been the best MD ever, both very skilled and very very supportive. She spoke recently at the big national meeting...
that was such a lucky call.

For a general practitioner, I signed up with a local Internal Medicine Group, (me still living in northern california.} At the time I had weird itchy allergies, and wanted to see a rheumatologist since I figured it was somehow immune related, and I've a touch of osteo. None of that turned out to be a big deal, but they saw me for several years, as they see general patients too. The level of expertise in the office was comforting.

I also saw a female gynecologist, one of the people mentioned by the bc surgeon. And I liked her too, though more on the Fine-level.

I've reported on my eye hazzerai elsewhere on a2k. Suffice it to say, I liked all three md's, particularly the female ophthamologist and the second male surgeon. Picked the ophthamologist just by word of mouth.

OK, now the history of good medicine is up in the air for me in this new city and new state. I no longer have regular insurance, only Medicare, and am applying for Medicaid... can't afford supplemental Medigap insurance.

I've signed up for a local general sort of clinic, go in a couple of weeks, and am also signing up for the eye clinic at the University of New Mexico, where they are letting me have an early appointment given my exciting eyes. Am calling tomorrow to find out if I can be seen at their b/cancer/gyno clinic. If not, my surgeon up in northern cal will help me pick one out of list in the phone book (she can check references).

Meantime, I'm not sure - my ophthamologist wanted me to check out retinal specialists, make sure I like one, before she will send the ever-precious beginning films... so if I don't like the clinic, I'll check out some of the retinal specialists in the phone book... if they'll see me with medicaid/medicare.



Summarizing - If you are in a hmo, that's one thing. If you are free to pick and choose, use it, it gives you power. I wouldn't expect you and your husband and child to all thrive with the same m.d., necessarily, but
you might. At your level of good health, it could make sense to go to a family practice group and check them out. Or, an internal medical group for you two adults, and a pediatrician for Mo. In any case, you aren't stuck staying with one practice.

We don't have a family doctor per se. I see a gynecologist, endocrinologist
and with the kid a pediatrician, that's about it. I found my specialists by recommedation, and also checked them out online through the American Medical Association (http://www.ama-assn.org)

It used to be that if I wanted a female doctor, I had one or two to choose from and I had to wait forever to be seen. Now, here in Cambridge, there may be more female docs than male ones. So, I need new criteria. I went with funny names. I bounced between Dr Lennox (annie lennox) and dr woolhandler. I opted for woolhandler, but she wasn't taking new patients, so I went with Lennox. I should have waited for woolhandler. She's been on NPR.