How To Make Sure You Have A Good Doctor

How To Make Sure You Have A Good Doctor

Access to good doctors is vital for your healthcare. Yet, millions of Americans are underserved, either due to poverty or geographical isolation. Even where access is not a problem, many Americans struggle with choosing the right doctor for them. For people struggling with choosing a good doctor, we have found a framework of questions that you should use when picking a doctor.

Trust

Your relationship with your doctor should be a relationship of trust. What this means is that you should feel free to express your concerns without fear of judgment, and you should be confident that your doctor is going to tell you, not just the truth, but the best advice that you could get. You need to have confidence in your doctor’s integrity, but also in their skill.

A good place to establish trust is to see whether they are a member of a professional medical association such as the American Medical Association. This commits your doctor to a set of standards that are designed to guarantee a quality âtient experience. You should also check if your doctor is board certified for their speciality. Although this is not a requirement and there are many excellent non-board certified doctors, if you don’t know the doctor, this is a good thing to check.

Empathy

Empathy is related to trust, but it should be thought of separately. You want a doctor who is empathetic, who will listen to your concerns with all seriousness. You don’t want a doctor who will dismiss your concerns, because that can have a negative impact on your health, if it turns out that your doctor was wrong to dismiss you.

Your doctor should give you a pathway to express your concerns and that they will try and understand what you are going through. They should also be willing to explain their diagnosis, your options, and the treatment protocols you will go through. An empathetic doctor will provide clarity and be a good listener.

A Lifelong Learner

Evidence is vital to the success of medicine. Over time, new evidence emerges and treatment protocols change. A doctor who does not keep up with emerging evidence and new treatment protocols, will not provide you with the best treatment protocols.

Of course, doctors are not in universal agreement about treatments, which is why different doctors will suggest different treatments. However, GA Family Dental & Facial Aesthetics believes that a doctor’s decision making to be driven by the most current thinking, rather than outdated models.

For your own satisfaction, you can look at the guidelines and position papers from professional medical societies to see what treatment for your condition should look like. This will help educate you, and ensure that you have some sense of control when you are going through a health crisis. So, let’s say you want to know how cardiovascular disease should be treated. You can check the American Heart Association’s guidelines for an idea of how your doctor should treat you.

Can Your Doctor Serve You

A doctor may be trustworthy, empathetic, and make decisions based on the most current evidence and protocols, but that is worthless if they can’t serve you.

You need a doctor who will accept your insurance, at a bare minimum. Your doctor should be able to admit you to hospitals your insurance covers for. They also need to be able to provide the specialty care that you need.