Finding Dr. Right
If you have recently graduated from high school or college and are on your way into the workforce, you've got a lot of important decisions to make — including figuring out your health benefits options — to keep you feeling and looking your best. allaboutthebenefits.com gives you the information you need to make better health benefits choices.
Here are some questions to get you started when you're looking for Dr. Right:
- What are the office hours? If you work full-time, ask if they see patients on Saturdays or evenings.
- Does the doctor have a subspecialty? Depending on your needs, find out if the doctor has experience working with a particular condition or illness that relates to you.
- Is the doctor available over the phone during office hours? If not, is there a nurse who can answer your questions? How quickly are calls typically returned during evening hours or on a weekend or holiday? Does the doctor use e-mail?
- Just in case - Who should you call in the middle of the night, on weekends or on holidays in an emergency?
- What hospital(s) does the doctor visit? Ideally, your doctor works with a hospital that's relatively close to your home.
- If the office is a group practice, will you see all of the physicians in the group or will you always see the same doctor? Can you choose to see the same doctor?
Does Your Doctor Make the Grade?
- What's the doctor's educational background? Your physician should have graduated from an accredited medical school, but it doesn't have to be a "big name" institution. Some health plans provide this type of information on their websites. You can also check "DoctorFinder" from the American Medical Association (AMA) database for information about the medical school, professional achievements, awards, certification and practice philosophy of PCPs in your area.
- Does the doctor have the same language preference as you?
- Is the doctor board-certified by the American Board of Family Physicians (ABFP) or the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)? The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) also maintains a directory of active members.
- Check out your doctor's track record and credentials by visiting MD Nationwide. For a small membership fee, you receive access to a database to review things like your doctor's training, board certification, memberships, awards and publications.
- If you have children, you might want to consider if the doctor is board-certified by the American Board of Family Physicians (ABFP), the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) or the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) also maintains a directory of active members.
