1. Get a Recommendation
Ask your primary-care doctor for a recommendation to the best specialist in the area. Your primary doctor may know a good rheumatologist or orthopedist personally, or may have one that he or she works with on a regular basis. If your primary-care doctor has other patients who have rheumatoid arthritis, he or she may have heard what these other patients have had to say about the rheumatologists in your area and can make a recommendation for you based on that knowledge.
2. Check with Your Insurance Company
Your health insurance company will have a list of rheumatologists and orthopedists in your area who participate in your insurance plan. You can call your insurance company to get the contact information for local rheumatologists who take your insurance, or you can request that your insurance company send you a booklet containing listings for participating doctors. Many insurance companies now have websites that have these same listings. One of the benefits of looking online for a local rheumatologist is that most insurance company websites give members the ability to rate doctors or to make comments on them. You can see what other patients have had to say about the specialists you are considering and can make a decision based on that information.
3. Contact the Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation always has a list of recommended rheumatologists throughout the country. You can find this list by going to their website and looking under the section for local communities. Type in your zip code to go to your community's page. You'll be able to view a list of specialists operating in your local area. You can also call your local chapter of the Arthritis Foundation to get a recommendation for a local arthritis specialist.
