How to Choose the Best Medical Specialist

There are several steps in selecting a health care specialist. Doctors often may choose a specialty right out of medical school and begin t train while in residency. Other doctors may complete a residency and then decide to specialize.

To find a doctor in the specialty you need, the first thing to do is to determine what medical specialty you need. Sometimes it is easy. If, for example you need surgery, you would obviously seek out a surgeon.

How long in Practice?

The first question you should ask of any physician is how long they have been in practice. Obviously you might not want to be the first patient of a doctor who has just completed his residency; (although truth be told someone has to be) This is especially true if the doctor is going to be performing a surgical procedure. General surgeons get plenty of practice while in residency, whereas specializing surgeons might do a fellowship before becoming certified. This leads to the next question.

Board Certified or not?

Is the doctor you are considering certified in his field? For example a Plastic Surgeon should be a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org (ASPS) Certification means that the doctor has had more specific training in his or her particular specialty or subspecialty.

One way to check out your doctor is the go to the website of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) https://www.abms.org/

There you can easily determine if your doctor is a board certified specialist.

How Many Procedures?

Another question to ask if you are having surgery is how many of the particular procedures has your surgeon done. There may or may not be a correct answer, but if less than one hundred make you uncomfortable, or if more than a dozen are good enough for you, that is entirely up to you. But you should know the answer up front.

Complaints?

Has your doctor had any complaints lodged against him or her? A complaint does not necessarily mean they are a "Bad" doctor. The number of complaints and how they have been handles may raise a red flag though. If there have been two complaints and both were resolved satisfactorily then you likely have little to worry about. However if your doctor has a long list of complaints and any are open, (in other words unresolved) perhaps you should keep looking.

Conclusion

To conclude, these are only a few things to consider. This list of questions is by no means comprehensive. Any question you deem important enough to ask your doctor, by all means ask. After all, this medical practitioner is going to be dealing with your health.