Caregiver Tip: How to Find a Primary Care Physician for a Senior Citizen

When it comes to caring for an aging loved one, one of the most vital decisions you can make is choosing the right primary care physician. A senior citizen's primary care doctor is the person you, as caregiver, will rely upon to order tests, interpret lab results, make referrals and offer advice on the multitude of issues your loved one will be facing. For these reasons you will want to carefully select a medical professional who is qualified, competent and compassionate.

A common place for caregivers to begin the search for a primary care physician is in the directory of doctors affiliated with your loved one's insurance policy. While this is an important consideration, do not limit your search to doctors included in a particular network. Consulting with the right doctor can literally be the difference between life and death for a senior citizen; it is therefore better to find an insurance company that accommodates your choice of doctor than to choose your doctor solely based upon their inclusion in a network.

A better first step in finding a primary care physician for your aging loved one is to make a list of factors that are important to you. Do you want a doctor who has privileges at a particular hospital? Is the gender of the doctor important to you? Do you need the doctor to be able to speak a particular language? Does your loved one have a rare condition that the doctor needs to be familiar with?

Once you have answered these questions and prioritized them you can begin looking up doctors in your area who specialize in geriatric medicine. Geriatricians are internal medicine doctors who have dedicated themselves to the study and treatment of ailments that affect the elderly. These doctors specialize in treating seniors in much the same way pediatricians specialize in the treatment of children. A geriatrician will be more sensitive to and experienced in the issues associated with advanced aging than a general practitioner or family doctor.

You can find geriatricians using an internet search engine. You can also use the directory provided by your loved one's insurance company. Hospital directories are another a good source of names, as are the referrals of friends, social workers and local senior centers.

Once you have made a list of prospective doctors it's time to do a little investigating. Healthgrades.com is a wonderful research tool to help you narrow down your list of candidates. For a fee you can find out information such as where the doctor went to school, how long he or she has been practicing medicine, and what other patients have to say about him or her. This is a good way to to get an overview of the doctor's credentials.

Next, it is time to call the doctors' offices. Likely you will not be able to speak with the doctor directly (they will be busy treating patients), but tell the receptionist you wish to discuss a new patient appointment. You should be able to speak with the appointment scheduler or the doctor's nurse to gather some additional information. Here are some questions to ask:

Is the doctor accepting new patients?

How long will you have to wait for an appointment?

Who sees patients when the doctor is not available?

Is there a 24/7 nurse line available?

What insurance plans does the doctor accept?

What hospitals does the doctor have privileges at?

Does the doctor have experience with your loved one's medical conditions?

Use these telephone interviews to select one doctor with whom you will to make a new patient appointment. At the initial appointment evaluate the friendliness of the staff, the attentiveness of the doctor and the cleanliness of the facilities. Don't judge too harshly based on wait time; very good doctors can be very tardy at times; it may signify that he or she offers each patient personal attention..

Once you, as caregiver, have completed this screening process you should have found the best possible physician for your aging loved one. You can now begin to develop a relationship with that doctor which will lead to healthier, more fulfilling golden years for the senior citizen in your care.