Do you know or care about your dr.'s credentials?

[Pin Wizard]

It's good you found someone you're happy with.

I've been in Credentialing the past 14 years and still love it!

There is a lot more to someone than just their education. People/patients are always hesitant to contact a physician's office directly. They should be able to give you important information that you need to know. Things such as...In the past year, how many of this particular procedure did you perform? What's your success rate? Failure rate? Complication rate for this procedure? Just for starters.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I cringe when i find out many people chose their doctor because they go to the same church etc. We have a horrible surgeon in town that people chose just because "he is a Christian"!
I also think it is funny how we research the heck out of our surgeons and take our anesthesiologist as "luck of the draw".

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I cringe when i find out many people chose their doctor because they go to the same church etc. We have a horrible surgeon in town that people chose just because "he is a Christian"!
I also think it is funny how we research the heck out of our surgeons and take our anesthesiologist as "luck of the draw".

Not all of us...14 surgeries & I have met every one of my anesthesiologists on pre-admission test day. I interview them and have the field narrowed down to just 4 that I will use. More difficult to schedule both docs on the same day but well worth it IMHO.

 

[Imzadi]

Yes, absolutely. I just had an exam for lasiks eye surgery. I had to wait for my eyes to stop being dilated before I could come to post my own questions, when I saw this thread. I waited a long time looking for a great Dr. in NYC. I knew there had to be some, I just didn't know the name of any, and I wanted a friend's recommendation as well as great credentials. This one has tremendous credentials.

There are a lot of shotty doctors practicing here under the anonymity of a big city, who get away with butchering people very day, so I wasn't going to just go to anyone.

I was planning on flying back to L.A. to get the lasiks, at the famous, Sinsky Eye institute which developed it, if I couldn't find a Dr. here. My eyes are so bad, that I already know what it's like to be almost blind. One bad doctor could make, what is really an unnecessary procedure a debilitating nightmare for life.

While, yes, a bad procedure or complications can happen anyway, the odds are better if you have a great doctor to begin with. Whereas, you can't really expect great results from a badly trained doctor. You'd be already stacking the cards against you, when you walk in.

 

[Pin Wizard]

If you know any nurses, ask them. They know who is decent and who isn't. Also, Google is your friend. Amazing what you will find on there.

 

[Pin Wizard]

While, yes, a bad procedure or complications can happen anyway, the odds are better if you have a great doctor to begin with. Whereas, you can't really expect great results from a badly trained doctor. You'd be already stacking the cards against you, when you walk in.

What do you consider a badly trained doctor? There are people who will only see an American born and trained physician. They're missing out on a lot of good docs that way. There are plenty of AB&T who turn out to have problems. You're better off researching each person individually. And with all the "fluff" lawsuits out there, you really need to know what the problem was. Was it a slip of the scalpel during surgery or was it a blood clot that formed and killed a patient. A slip of the scalpel is a surgeon's fault, a blood clot is not. Huge difference!

 

[Tinkerbelle'sMOM]

As a nurse, I have worked with some guys that are highly "credentialled" but they are such asses, I would never go to them. Just because you train at the "best" facilities, doesn't make you a "fine" surgeon.
And I work for a "world class care" facility and there are a few that I would run from! And they have impeccable credentials!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

What do you consider a badly trained doctor? There are people who will only see an American born and trained physician. They're missing out on a lot of good docs that way. There are plenty of AB&T who turn out to have problems. You're better off researching each person individually. And with all the "fluff" lawsuits out there, you really need to know what the problem was. Was it a slip of the scalpel during surgery or was it a blood clot that formed and killed a patient. A slip of the scalpel is a surgeon's fault, a blood clot is not. Huge difference!

But there is protocol to avoid blood clots & also some people more prone to clotting.

 

[Galahad]

Checking credentials is a good idea. Googling them might not be.... my neuro had a couple of malpractice suits, but I couldn't find the resolutions - dropped, settled, cleared... nothing. So it made me worry a bit.

However, my surgery was very successful and I am forever greatful.

As said before, most states have sites where you can look ath te resolutions too. The above is good advice. Apart from primary care, it will be next to impossible to find a doc that hasn't been sued. In some specialties, of course, it's more than others. Also it usually takes years for a case to come to resolution - especially if there was no malpractice. Just being sued really tells you nothing - especially with OB's, Surgeons, Orthopods, etc.

 

[diznygirl]

Yes, I checked my doctor's credentials. He has his Monorail Driver certificate hanging in the waiting room, but no diploma.

But he's also officially a doctor!


Honest!