Choosing a doctor means you're about to establish an important new relationship. Your doctor may have retired, you may have recently relocated or you simply may not have needed to see a doctor until now. Since you're about to entrust your health to a stranger, you'd do well to check him out in advance. In the internet age, it's become easier than ever to do so, though keep in mind the pitfalls that go along with easy access to information.
Step 1
Ask other doctors as well as your friends for a recommendation. Nothing is as good as word of mouth. Ask your family doctor which specialist he really likes.
Ask your friends if the doctor they saw was competent and if they felt comfortable with her. If you need a surgeon, it's important that he also be nice; however, if his bedside manner is gruff, yet his surgical skills are superb, he might just be the best doctor for you anyway.
Step 2
Look your doctor up on the State Medical Board website, which you can find by Googling. Look at her license information. See if she has any actions against her, or if there is a record of malpractice.
Keep in mind that in certain specialties, such as OB/GYN and surgery, almost every doctor will be sued at some point in her career. Also, while some doctors are sanctioned by the medical board for negligence, some are penalized for non-medical issues, such as paperwork issues.
Step 3
Google your prospective doctor. As of 2010, doctor rating sites are still in their infancy, and information there is often inaccurate. However, if the doctor has been involved in cases of negligence or even criminal activity, you might be able to find this information online before it's available through the medical board. But don't believe everything you read--it's easy to conduct a smear campaign out of bitterness or vindictiveness.
See if there's a trend--if the majority of patients are satisfied with his care, chances are he's a good doctor. Remember also that the posters are anonymous and anyone can post multiple times. The doctor might have a personal website. Read through that and see if he's to your liking.
Tips and Warnings
- The most famous doctor is not always the best.
- If you end up going to a doctor and have a bad feeling about him, trust your gut instincts. He might just be having a bad day, but your feelings are more important than any information you have gathered in advance.
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