I will be referring almost exclusively to a free booklet written by the National Institute on Aging working with the National Institutes of Health called: Talking With Your Doctor. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 05-3452 August 2005 (Reprinted April 2010)
https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps66054/TWYD_Final.pdf
You can choose your doctor! Yes, that may sound obvious but I have clients who are unhappy with their current physician and didn’t realize they could switch. It is important that you find a doctor you can talk to without reservation. He or she will be the one who will eventually know you and what constitutes a “baseline” for your health. They can help you with medical decisions and can serve as the hub for all the other medical specialists and providers (kind of like a matriarch of the family or quarterback of a football team). The booklet states, “People sometimes hesitate to change doctors because they worry about hurting their doctor’s feelings. But doctors understand that different people have different needs. They know it is important for everyone to have a doctor with whom they are comfortable.” You should understand that this may take time but it is time well spent.
The following is straight from the booklet.
Decide what you are looking for in a doctor.
“Do you care if your doctor is a man or a woman? Is it important that your doctor has evening office hours, is associated with a specific hospital or medical center, or speaks your language? Do you prefer a doctor who has an individual practice or one who is part of a group so you can see one of your doctor’s partners if your doctor is not available? After you have made your list, go back over it and decide which qualities are most important and which are nice, but not essential.”
Identify several possible doctors
Once you have a general sense of what you are looking for, ask friends and relatives, medical specialists, and other health professionals for the names of doctors with whom they have had good experiences. Rather than just getting a name, ask about the person’s experiences. For example: say, “What do you like about Dr. Smith?” and “Does this doctor take time to answer questions?” A doctor whose name comes up often may be a strong possibility. If you belong to a managed care plan—a health maintenance organization (HMO) or preferred provider organization (PPO)—you may be required to choose a doctor in the plan or else you may have to pay extra to see a doctor outside the network. Most managed care plans will provide information on their doctors’ backgrounds and credentials. Some plans have websites with lists of participating doctors from which you can choose.
To be continued…
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