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Friday, August 15, 2008
Newcomer Q&A: How do you find a doctor?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m nervous about the sniffle and hack medley that rings through the newsroom this week.
There are a few too many sick days and Z-Pak prescriptions going around, far too much exhaustion and malaise. And oh yes, school is in session, which means every child, and sadly, every parent, is a bastion of disease.
I managed most of the challenges of moving, but never managed to find a doctor or a dentist. I’m flossing and washing my way through a wave of general health. I’m fine! Fine! For now.
So how do you find a new doc in a new town? The weak overtures I made to finding a doctor ended with a lot of recommendations, mostly for doctors that work an hour away who stopped taking new patients.
Sure the American Medial Association has a nice database. The AJC has a searchable database of local doctors, too.
I found tips about how to find and choose a doctor in a 2007 news story and posted them below the jump. If you’ve got other Web site recommendations or more tips, share them in the comments.
Know who to call. You’ll rarely hear the term “general practitioner” these days. Primary care and family practice doctors, who see both children and adults, and internal medicine doctors, who see those usually at least 16 to 18 years old and up, are the choices. Determine if you prefer a female or male doctor, and if you want a solo practitioner or someone who is part of a group.
Find out who is on your insurance plan. Having that list is a good starting point. Determine which doctor has multiple locations or offices near your home. Also, know the hospitals where they have staff privileges —- usually found by looking online or calling the office —- to make sure it’s near where you live. Another option is to ask a specialist you already may be seeing to handle your general medicine needs, said Dr. Michael Dailey with Infectious Disease Services of Georgia and a Medical Association of Atlanta board member.
Get word-of-mouth referrals. Ask co-workers, other parents, people who share your religious beliefs whom they recommend, said Sandra McVicker, senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer with MCG Health in Augusta. If you know people who work in the health care community, get their impressions.
Call the doctor’s offices to investigate. How fast you can get an appointment is going to be a major factor. If you’re being told the wait is long, take the initiative and ask if anybody has canceled that day, said Dr. Robert Kaufmann, an internal medicine physician with the Kaufmann Clinic in Atlanta. Ask the staff about evening and weekend hours. Find out what happens when it’s 2 a.m. and you’re sick and in need of a doctor. “You really get a good idea by their responses whether it’s a positive environment that you’re going to, ” McVicker said. Dr. Samantha Collier said physicians should be willing to make time for you to visit and interview them, at no charge. If they say no, cross them off the list.
Do background checks. While public and private Web sites offer information about physicians, some may cost money and may be inaccurate. In Georgia, the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners has a physician database at www.medicalboard.georgia.gov. Look to see if they received their training from a U.S. medical school, if they’re board certified, how long they have been in practice, if any disciplinary actions have been filed or malpractice settlements awarded. Certification shows the additional and ongoing training doctors have undertaken, experts say. Only six out of 10 doctors nationwide are board certified, Dr. Davis Liu said. Use the age or years out of medical school to help guide you, said Collier, whose site, www.healthgrades.com, provides that and other data, for a fee. You may want a younger physician if you feel you can relate to them better, or an older physician who has more experience, she said.
Determine the potential for a relationship. Observe whether the doctor is listening to you. Are they focusing on you, making eye contact, without interruptions? “I worry that doctors sit at computers and almost don’t look at the patient, ” Dailey said. “They’re sort of entering data as opposed to seeing how the patient says something and reacting to that, to figure out what is going on.” Make sure the person is knowledgeable about any chronic illness or health concerns. Ask how comfortable they are treating it and its symptoms or reactions, Collier said. And let them know if you expect to receive test results, even if there’s nothing wrong. Some doctors assume there is no need to call if everything is OK, she added. Kaufmann also advised asking what opportunities are available for communication, such as a physician’s e-mail, blog or Web site.
Consider their style. Does the physician talk to you in a way that’s like a partnership vs. talking down to you? “I think most patients now don’t want that Marcus Welby, paternalistic, ‘Oh, just do what I’m telling you because I know best’ [mind-set], ” Collier said. Ask if they will welcome you back if you choose to get a second opinion on an issue. “Some physicians and health care professionals in general think they can take care of everything, ” McVicker said.
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