Getting treatment for medical conditions can be a daunting and stressful task. In the broad field of medicine, finding a competent doctor may be the most crucial element in getting good treatment. Several services compile information about doctors’ history, credentials and performance. Patients contemplating the services of a particular doctor can use these sources to check doctor ratings and reviews. They should use the doctor and physician ratings and general reputation among colleagues before deciding on a doctor or physician.
Step 1:
Use the “check up on your doctor” feature on the Vitals website to check ratings for individual doctors (see Sources). It is best to know the full name of your doctor and the zip code where he works. However, you can find multiple doctors by searching under just the last name and even the whole state.
Look at the “Highlights” section in the results to see the doctor’s rating. The school rating will also give you an idea of the quality of the doctor’s medical education. Click on the doctor’s name to see where the doctor attended and graduated from medical school and residencies attended.
Finally, you can also get the doctor’s affiliations and the ratings of the affiliated hospital or medical institution.
Step 2:
Use the “help me find one” feature on the Vitals website to conduct doctor comparisons for doctors in your area. You can enter your area, the type of medical specialty or medical condition to be treated, and even an insurance filter to find doctors that accept your particular insurance policy.
Step 3:
Use the Health Grades doctor rating system to find more doctor reviews and ratings for doctors throughout the United States (see Sources). You may search for a single doctor or just choose a specialty and zip code or city/state to find multiple doctors. Click on the physician name in the search results to see ratings of doctors and other individualized information.
Step 4:
Use state medical boards to check up on a doctor. A doctor may have a high average rating and good reviews from patients but still have potential problems with the medical board. To find the database for a state medical board, click on “Browse Rated Docs” on the RateMds website (see Sources). Click on the state where the doctor practices. You will then see an “Investigate Doctors at State Medical Board” link. Click on that to search public information available from the state medical board.
Step 5:
Always ask other doctors for a referral if you need to find a new doctor. Doctors generally have a reputation in the medical community, but general reputation can sometimes be the result of marketing and networking as much as physician quality. You should not rely solely on ratings of doctors by patients or referrals from doctors. Use all of these sources before making a decision about which doctor to use for medical treatment.
Sources:
Health Grades Doctor Rating System
Vitals Doctor and Hospital Rating System
RateMds Doctor Ratings and Links to State Medical Boards
