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Your Rights As a Hospital Patient Questions to Prepare for Surgery If You Think You're Leaving the Hospital Too Soon Getting to Know Your MCO (managed care organization)
Preventing Prescription Errors
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FINDING DR. RIGHT
Finding a Doctor to Suit Your Everyday Needs | The Interview You want Marcus Welby: a soft-spoken gentle person with a lifelong practice, maybe a few grandchildren, someone your mother would recommend. In the real world, competence and a clean record will do. But even that may be hard to find if you’re new in town or are in sudden need of a specialist. And with approximately 70,000 doctors licensed in New York State, the search may be dizzying. The system, however, is navigable. You just need to learn how to look. The best time to look is when you’re healthy and can shop around. But where do you start? You can quickly bypass the Yellow Pages; they tell you nothing of the quality of a doctor’s work and often give incorrect information. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 12 percent of physicians who advertised in the Yellow Pages as “specialists” were not board-certified in that specialty (more on board certification later). While you can get recommendations from family and friends, as people often do, this approach tends to overemphasize the personal, instead of the technical, skills of the physician. Instead, begin your search by asking someone in the medical profession‹a doctor, dentist, nurse, or other health care provider whom you trust‹for the name of a competent doctor in your area. If you’re moving to a new area, try phoning the head of a department at a medical school or university hospital recommendation. This approach will improve your chances of finding a doctor who’s familiar with the latest medical procedures. Also try local hospitals and the medical society.
Finding a Doctor to Suit Your Everyday Needs Family practice doctors were once known as general practitioners. Until a few decades ago, GPs only had to complete one year of residency before going out to practice. Today, a fully qualified family practice specialist takes three years of residency. “FPs” are trained in surgery and delivering babies, though many do not use these skills in practice. Internists are specialists in “internal medicine,” which includes all of the body’s organs. Some internists sub-specialize in one organ or system‹such as cardiologists, gastroenterologists, etc. Internists also serve as consultants to FPs. Which of these is better in delivering general health care? FPs have more training in obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics. They are more likely to look after all family members, including children. Internists work mainly with adults. They have more training in serious diseases such as heart, lung, and stomach or intestinal problems. Internists sometimes charge more and see fewer patients daily. They are also more likely to refer you to specialists outside of their field. Obstetrician-Gynecologists (OB-GYNs) The overwhelming majority of OB-GYNs act as gatekeepers to general care for women and are the only doctors some women ever see. Pediatricians are the doctors trained to care for the young.
When the doctor needs a checkup... 1. Find out where the physician graduated from medical school and when. 2. In addition to finding out where the residency took place, examine the residency itself. If it was completed at a teaching hospital, that’s a good sign. Also find out how long the residency lasted; by current standards it should be at least three years. 3. Find out if the physician has passed the board-certification program. This usually requires a doctor to complete at least three years of residency and then pass written and oral exams. To find out if a doctor is board certified, consult the Directory of Medical Specialists, the American Medical Directory, or the Medical Directory of New York at your public library or call the American Board of Medical Specialists at 800-776-CERT (2378), from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 4. Check the American Board of Medical Specialties’ Compendium of Certified Medical Specialists to find out if this doctor has at least one affiliation with a respected hospital. Most do, but if you find that you like a doctor without an affiliation, ask why; you’d hate to discover it was revoked for misconduct.
Doctor Conduct
Office of Professional Medical Conduct
For information about other health professionals such as dentists, nurses, chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists and psychologists contact: New York State Education Department
Also, obtain a copy of “Questionable Doctors,” a report published annually by the Ralph Nader-founded Public Citizen, which lists U.S. doctors with disciplinary actions filed against them. You may request the list by state ($15 plus shipping and handling) or in its entirety ($250 plus shipping and handling). Write to: Public Citizen Health Research Group, Dept. QD
The Interview
When you see the doctor, here are a few things to keep in mind:
A few signs to watch out for:
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