What process do you use to choose a new doctor?

I have no problem scheduling an appointment in which I can interview the prospective physician(s). I would pay for it out-of-pocket if a fee was requested, but the time I did this (and got a great doc, by the way), there was no fee charged.

I got recommendations from friends and there are now websites where folks review physicians. I narrowed it down to my top 2 and scheduled interviews. This is the same thing I would do if I was looking for a new accountant or any other professional who provides a service. I then picked my top choice and did send a thank you note to the other physician indicating my appreciation for her willingness to meet with me and letting her know that I had selected a physician.

I had to switch because my Family Practitioner quit, due to the hassle with insurance and paper work in general. He wasn’t earning a living.

I asked him and friends and acquaintances in the area. Here it is easy because there aren’t many people and hence only a few doctors.

Then I make a brief appointment to “meet and greet ” the guy at the top of the list. After several minutes it was clear that I like him, his approach and his practice in general.

Then I wrote him a short note thanking him and telling him of my choice and why. The words weren’t important; the sense of a partnership was.

I think word of mouth in the best way to find a potential doctor. Though, I have found that one person will totally love one doctor and the next person thinks that doctor is a quack. I think the meet and greet as @gailcalled put it sounds like a fantastic idea.

I’ve always subscribed to the eeny – meenie – minie – moe (catch a doctor by the toe) method. I generally pick the one who’s closest to my home and office and is on my insurer’s list.

Astonishingly, I’ve always had doctors that I’ve liked very much. (I did find one dentist years and years ago who wanted to “upsell” all of the amalgam fillings that I’ve had in my teeth forever, and wanted to give me an unnecessary root canal, but other than that I’ve been fine.)

Maybe I’m just easy to please, which I’m sure would shock many here.

I have Kaiser and with that insurance they have a phone number that you can call and talk to a nurse or a rep and ask them all sorts of questions to help you narrow down your search. For instance, I wanted to use a particular facility that is close to my house, and then I wanted a doctor that spoke English as his first language and one who really takes the time to listen to my questions and is willing to pay attention to and give qualified advice with regard to alternative medicines and supplements and nutrition.

You need to come up with a list of criteria that are important for you and then see if your insurance has some type of representative that you can talk to to help you find the right doctor. At that point, it is indeed a good idea to pay for a meet and greet (before you get sick). Luckily, Kaiser lets you change doctors as often as you need to.

Of course, word of mouth by friends and relatives is good too.

I’ve always picked the one nearest to me and have never had any complaints. I very rarely had to see any of them but when I did they were great.

Regeneration.

@WasCy I generally pick the one who’s closest to my home and office and is on my insurer’s list. Astonishingly, I’ve always had doctors that I’ve liked very much. (I did find one dentist years and years ago who wanted to “upsell”..

Exactly my method/experience.

The upselling dentist was like a car salesman.

Walking distance from my house, preferably in the direction of my work.

I used to work for a Physician’s Referral service, so I trust them.

We are on Kaiser now, and each doctor has a full page biography with specialties listed. It made it very easy to choose a primary physician.

I chose my doctor because my sister had been going to him for a few years and was happy with him.

I ask co workers for references since I spend so much time with them to trust a few and also to find doctors close by my workplace in order to schedule visits on the way to work so I never have to waste a day off.

This post brings to mind my ex who would only see Asian or Jewish doctors. He was certain American doctors had mostly been screw off students who had probably cheated more than studied. Oy.

I know some Jews and Asians who are American, too. No kidding.

@jaytkay: I should’ve put anglo American in my post. My southern-russian, jewish, Farsi speaking ex didn’t trust anglos Americans much.

I’ve always asked around, gotten names, and set up a consult if need be (I don’t have the same restrictions in terms of only paying for 1 doctor, so I usually just make an appointment). But consults aren’t… well, they aren’t common, but they aren’t uncommon, and it’s normally people who have to make a decision and stick with it that set them up.

If you want the government to pay for your health care, you must go to a doctor who bulk bills which is the key phrase for one who will send the bill to the government instead of having you pay. This limits your choices and also means you usually have to wait longer for an appointment. It also means, in most cases, the doctor will only do one thing per visit. I had to have a wart removed, get a pap smear and blood drawn for testing. Instead of getting it all done in one visit, they made me come back 3 times so that he could bill the government for 3 visits instead of one. It is one of the downsides to socialized medicine. I guess if you aren’t working it is fine, what else do you have to do, but I found it a waste of time. We now have private health insurance (almost 500 per month for 2). I always ask folks who have lived in the area for many years, where they go and why. Same situation with dentists.

@rooeytoo, even if you are in a private pay system, you only get one of those things done at a time. Your primary would probably refer you to a dermatologist for the wart removal, so you would have to pay twice for that – once to the primary, who looked at it and sent you to a dermatologist, and then the dermatologist, who would charge you at a specialist rate. Odds are, your family practitioner wouldn’t do a pap smear and send you to a gynocologist, and you would again have to pay a specialist copay for the second visit to the gynocologist.

@BarnacleBill – I beg to differ, granted I have been away from the USA for 12 years but in the years I lived there, my GP would have done everything on the same visit. Although I will admit the trend was heading towards going to a ob/gyn for the pap smear. I will have to check with my friends who still go to the same doctor to see what is now happening. I did have numerous plantars warts treated and/or burnt off my foot by the same doc and blood taken in his office.

Also in Australia you have to go to a GP first to be referred to a gyn which only happens if there is a problem, otherwise the pap smear is done in their office. That is my point you see, all are routinely done by the GP here, but instead of it happening all at the same visit, I was forced to go back 3 times when it all could have been done in the first visit but then the loss of billing for the other 2 visits.