What made you choose the doctor you have?

[Kitty 34]

Some of you probably remember my insurance dilemma that I posted about a couple of weeks ago. Well I guess I'm now in the market for a new doctor after over 12 years with the same group.

Anyway.....what qualities do you look for in a doctor and their office? I have a huge list to pick from; females or males, older or younger, board certified , not board certified, affiliations with various groups and hospitals, etc.

 

[Micca]

I chose my doc based on location. There's a Taco Bell, KFC, and a liquor store within about 500 feet, so I'm always up for a treat after a doc visit.

 

[Kitty 34]

I chose my doc based on location. There's a Taco Bell, KFC, and a liquor store within about 500 feet, so I'm always up for a treat after a doc visit.

What's hilarious about your post, is quite a few of the doctors I'm looking at on this list are on the street where those three are located!!!! So I'm on the right track with that part!!!

 

[hellokitty86]

I chose my doc based on location. There's a Taco Bell, KFC, and a liquor store within about 500 feet, so I'm always up for a treat after a doc visit.

I like the way you think!!

To answer your question OP, I try to ask friends & family if they would recommend their Dr. "Bedside manner" is very important to me and also having a nice staff that responds to phone calls in a timely manner. I don't mind driving a little bit further if the doctor comes highly recommended. Good luck finding a doctor you are happy with.

 

[mtemm]

I usually ask for recommendations from friends/family. I found my gyn when I found out I was pg and wanted to deliver at the hospital she was affiliated with. it was a large well known hospital and I actually posted on some new-mom message boards looking for good experiences. I can't tell you how many people recommended the same dr! lol. and I can see why, she is awesome. she delivered my first and even though I now live about 45 minutes or so from her offices, I still keep her as my gyn.

my regular dr I picked a bit more randomly. my dh had recently started seeing someone in the same practice and was very happy with both his choice of dr and the practice. I prefer a female dr if possible so I picked the one woman in the practice that was still taking patients. I have to say around here it is hard to find people who are actually accepting new patients! she closed just after I made my first appt, so I barely got in, and am happy I did. so far so good!

our children's peds we usually find from friend recommendations. same with specialists (along with recs from our drs).

it really is hard to just pick from a book.

eta, kitty, I wonder if you could ask your current dr for a recommendation? they might know someone that could be a good fit for you!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Way back when I was looking for a pediatrician, my OB was giving me some names. He suggested being sure I got one that I could reach at 5PM on Friday. That has always stuck with me 25 years later.

I am in health care and have to contact MDs by phone. There are some where it is impossible to speak to a human or get a call back. I would never have one of them for my doctor no matter how good they are.

So, my suggestion is to find something that you can actually reach and speak to.

 

[arminnie]

Best recommendations are from medical staff who work with them maybe at a hospital. I even had a doctor tell me one time to ask a surgical nurse about a doctor's qualifications - they see everything.

But it can be hard to find a doctor who will accept new patients or new medicare patients. I finally got a gyn. after trying for about 3 years because she was one of my sister's clients and agreed to see me. And I live in a medium sized city with a medical school.

 

[Kitty 34]

Way back when I was looking for a pediatrician, my OB was giving me some names. He suggested being sure I got one that I could reach at 5PM on Friday. That has always stuck with me 25 years later.

I am in health care and have to contact MDs by phone. There are some where it is impossible to speak to a human or get a call back. I would never have one of them for my doctor no matter how good they are.

So, my suggestion is to find something that you can actually reach and speak to.

Maybe I should start calling from my list and see how many actually answer the phone with a human and not a machine! Even tho my doctor of the past 12 years finally went to an automative phone system. Pain in the butt!!

Mtemm.....I was toying with doing just that.

 

[zoemurr]

I had a list to pick from too, but NO ONE was taking new patients. After my 15th or so call I started sobbing to a poor secretary. She told me the name of a new dr. that she said was nice and was taking new patients.

I also had one that said they were open, and the secretary asked me for my health concerns. I told her, and the next day she called me back and said she was sorry but the dr. really wasn't available to new patients.

Good luck.. it was a very stressful time for me.

 

[disfan07]

I just moved to California last year so I had to find all new doctors. Since the move, I have acquired 8 doctors. 1 primary and 7 specialists.
The most important quality of all of my doctors...hospital affiliation. They are all affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. My medical case is extremely complicated so I will not go to a doctor that is not affiliated with a major research hospital.

Qualifications....all of my doctors have excellent qualifications. UCSD medical school, Hopkins, UCSF, UCLA, Harvard. A couple of my doctors have been given NIH grants as well as being reimbursed for research.
Bedside manner....extremely important to me. I dont care how much you know. If your bedside manner blows, you're not a good doctor. All of my doctors listen to me. They are kind, funny, and extremely caring.
Board Certified...definitley. No question about that. You couldnt pay me enough money to go to a doctor not board certified.
Age...7 of my doctors are under 40. Only my surgeon is over 40. I prefer this. I dont really like "older" doctors. From my experience I have found the younger doctors are more knowledgeable, more up to date with current care and just much better overall but that is JMO.

We were lucky. My current dermatologist was a resident with my derm from Hopkins so thats how we got that recommendation and than she recommended my allergist, my GYN and my primary care. My primary care referred me to my neurologist and neurosurgeon.
My uncle is friends with one of the CEOs of Cedars-Sinai so that is how we got my pulmonologist and my pulmonologist referred me to my cardiologist.

Good Luck. Finding new doctors sucks.

 

[livie1205]

when i had my ds13 i had not picked a ped, I was young and didnt know when I should do that...when I was in the hospital after I had him they said the on call dr would see him,I said "ok" I was resting in my room when this man opened my door and said "you didnt have that baby did you" (my son was 10 lbs and I was a tiny thing) and he came in and spoke with me,the sweetest man...he said he would be his dr if I wanted so for 13 yrs he has been my sons,mine,my dd4 and my dss Dr.!

 

[charming23]

I got my current doctor reccomended to me by my pediatrician. I was 12 and the whole family need a new doctor with the new insurance we had with my mom's job so he reccomended a family doctor and we love him. I have never gone to any other doctor in the past 13 years and have even stuck with him through 3 different office moves. He is attentive and very good at listening to you.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I actually do have criteria for a new doctor. Unfournately I didn't have a choice here and 3 months later still have an untreated broken ankle to show for it

Anyways things I find important:

office hours--I need early or late and possibly Saturday

smaller practice--I like a clinic with just 3 or 4 doctors so you don't get lost in the shuffle.

centrally located--can I get from home or work to the office in a reasonable time?

I ask who they primarily treat mainly older people or all ages. If you have children, ask if you can bring children. My old office didn't allow it.

I also ask if bloodwork and xrays and basic exams like well woman are done in house. I hate have to drive all over to get simple things done.

I had the best doctor office at our last post. I miss them so much. It was a smaller practice and they really cared. When my husband is away, they would call and check on me and when I had pneumonia and wouldn't go to the hospital. They checked on me everyday. Such a great office.