When looking for a primary care doctor for yourself or a loved one, it’s important to choose someone you can trust. A primary care doctor can: Show
When you and your doctor work together as a team, you get better health care. Look for a doctor who:
Try the following tips to find a doctor who’s right for you. Ask for recommendations from people you know.Getting a reference from someone you know and trust is a great way to find a doctor:
Check with your insurance company.If you have health insurance, you may need to choose from a list of doctors in your plan's network (doctors that take your insurance plan). Some insurance plans may let you choose a doctor outside your network if you pay more of the cost. To find a doctor who takes your insurance:
If you don’t have health insurance, you’ll have to pay for health care out of pocket (on your own). For help finding health insurance, visit HealthCare.gov. Learn more about your top choices.Make a list of the doctors you're interested in. Be sure to think about how easy or difficult it will be to travel to an appointment. Then call their offices to learn more about them. The answers to the following questions may help you make the best decision. Questions about the doctor:
Questions about the office:
Think about your experience after the first visit.Did the doctor and office staff:
If you answer “no” to any of these questions, you may want to keep looking. Content last updated June 1, 2022 Reviewer InformationThis content on choosing a doctor was adapted from materials from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health. If you don’t already have a primary care physician, you should consider getting one soon. It's good for your health, says a growing body of evidence. (Getty Images) Specifically, a 2019 case study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that mortality rates are lower in U.S. counties with more primary care providers. Each 10 additional primary care physicians per 100,000 people was linked to a 51.5-day increase in life expectancy, the researchers reported. Primary care providers have such an enormous impact on the health and well-being of patients because they are “trained in the assessment and management of comprehensive care,” says Dr. Sophia Tolliver, clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. “Unlike a specialist, they’re equipped to promote health and wellness via health screenings and conversations about diet, exercise and mental health,” she explains. “Additionally, they’re trained to treat a wide breadth and depth of medical concerns from acute care to chronic conditions.” All of that adds up to better outcomes for patients. The concept of a primary care doctor was first introduced in 1961 a now-classic New England Journal of Medicine article titled "The Ecology of Medical Care.” The idea was to improve care for patients navigating a complicated web of specialist providers that had developed in American medicine by the mid-20th century. The idea had legs, and today, the primary care physician is the doctor you see for anything from a sniffle or annual physical to chronic disease care, routine preventive tests or a sudden illness or injury. A front-line health care provider, your primary care doctor is the person who’s looking out for all your health needs, big and small. And this provider can coordinate care when you need more intensive or specialized assistance. Why You Need a Primary Care Doctor“Whether you’re in good health or have multiple chronic conditions, primary care doctors often are the most familiar with their patient’s overall health,” says Dr. Richard Seidman, chief medical officer of L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the U.S. As such, many PCPs are “focused on general preventive recommendations,” he says. These typically include:
What’s more, many health insurance programs require a referral from a primary care physician before you can see a specialist for a closer look at a specific health issue. If you need specialized care, having an established relationship with a primary care provider can get you to the right specialist faster. Selecting the Right Doctor for Your SituationNot all primary care providers are the same, and even in this area of medicine, some providers may specialize in a certain kind of patient or a type of issue. Dr. Chris Jaeger, vice president of care redesign and chief innovation officer at Pacific Business Group on Health, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve quality while moderating costs across the U.S. health system, says the following five categories of primary care providers make up the constellation of primary caregivers. You may encounter one or more of the different types of primary care doctors over the course of your lifetime as your needs change.
Whichever primary care doctor you select, they should act as your first stop for any question regarding health and wellness. What to Look for in a Good DoctorThere are several steps you should follow and considerations to address when looking right doctor. 1. Check With Your Insurance Carrier “Health insurance companies have provider directories that can help people find doctors conveniently located and include information about the doctor to help narrow down the choices,” Seidman says. Starting with that information may save you a lot of time. 2. Think About Your Needs and Preferences Some patients want to be seen by a male provider, others will only work with a woman. Tolliver also recommends considering what technology a practice uses and when they’re open. Will they be using an electronic medical records system that connects to the local hospital network, or is the practice still on paper charts? Is the doctor reachable by email, or will you have to phone them when you need to get in touch? Are the location and opening hours convenient with your schedule? For example, some offer Saturday appointments to accommodate people with busy work schedules. In addition, consider what type of care style you'd most prefer. Do you want the doctor to be more conservative in approach by using more holistic practices before adding medications or suggesting surgery? Or do you take comfort in being able to get a pill for what ever is bothering you? There are different styles of care and any doctor you're considering should be able to articulate their approach to medicine. The key is to know what you’re looking for, what will fit with your lifestyle and what will make you feel most comfortable when working closely with a health care provider. 3. Ask for Recommendations “Word of mouth is a great way to find a doctor that best meets your needs,” Seidman says. In fact, he notes that “studies have shown that the more doctors have in common with their patients, such as gender, culture, race, language, etc., the better the health outcomes.” 4. Read Reviews But, a word of caution: If you read online doctor review sites, take the opinions posted there with a grain of salt. Just because a doctor receives a negative review doesn't necessarily mean they treated the patient inappropriately. It could be that the patient went in seeking a specific outcome, such as a prescription for an antibiotic, but upon review, such treatment wasn't the right course of action in that instance. 5. Check Their Background As such, Seidman recommends looking for board-certified pediatricians, internal medicine specialists, or family medicine physicians “who have completed three-year training programs after completing medical school and have passed their board certification exams.” You may also want to research whether there have been any complaints made against a provider. You can do this via the Federation of State Medical Boards’ DocInfo website, which provides access to the disciplinary history of doctors in every state if such history exists. The more you know about a doctor, the better the chances are that you'll find a good fit. 6. Set Up a Meeting When you do meet with the doctor, assess how the doctor receives you: Once you’ve done all that, if the doctor feels like a good fit, great – you’ve found yourself the right provider for your situation. If not, keep searching. There are other providers out there and a little more searching may yet yield the best fit for you. Tolliver notes that sometimes, the search for a new provider can be challenging, “especially if you’re leaving a physician you’ve been with for a number of years.” She urges you to “give your new physician a chance to learn about who you are as a patient and provide you good evidence-based medicine.” In addition, she recommends “managing expectations regarding who your new physician should be as compared to who your previous physician was. That can help your new relationship flourish and grow.” In the end, it’s about that relationship you forge with this important caregiver. “In addition to being a medical expert, a great primary care doctor can demonstrate his or her heart for people by listening empathetically and engaging their patients in a shared form of decision making,” Tolliver says. This helps patients “understand the intention of diagnosis and treatment including all of the risks and benefits associated therein.” In other words, find a doctor who can truly become your partner in health. How do I find the perfect doctor?Ask for recommendations from people you know.. Ask friends, family members, neighbors, or coworkers if they have a doctor they like.. If you're looking for a new doctor because yours is retiring or moving, ask your current doctor for a recommendation.. Why is it difficult to find a good doctor?Primary care is getting hit harder than most specialties, due to having lower salaries, higher ratings of burnout, and a growing feeling that their job is generally impossible and thankless on all fronts. According to a 2019 physician survey, the burnout scores among PCPs were up to 79%.
What is the best site for doctor reviews?These are our top seven to focus on as you get started out.. Healthgrades reviews. Healthgrades is a doctor review site with 19 million monthly visitors. ... . ZocDoc reviews. ... . WebMD reviews. ... . Vitals reviews. ... . RateMDs reviews. ... . Yelp doctor reviews. ... . Google My Business reviews.. How do I find a good GP in my area?To find a new GP you can:. ask your current doctor for advice.. ask your family, friends and neighbours for recommendations.. ask a local pharmacist or other medical professionals who have dealings with doctors in the area.. |