Find the Doctor of Your Dreams
By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. We hear you: Finding a spouse or a job is easy compared to finding the right doctor. So if a change in insurance or a desire for a different bedside manner has sent you physician shopping, use this list to make the search easier:
Ask: Is the doctor accepting new patients?
Good answer: "Yes," or "possibly," or even "not right now." You want a busy doc with plenty of patients (same reason you'd rather order pasta in a crowded restaurant instead of an empty one). "No" really means "get to know the office manager and be persistent and you'll get in within a few weeks or months." We'd go elsewhere.
Ask: Is this doctor working primarily in management?
Good answer: "No, she only sees patients," or "yes, but she sees patients at least one day a week." You don't want someone who "sees patients when she can." A "chief" who's managing the careers of 90 people might have a difficult time making your care her top priority.
Ask: Which types of patients does the doctor usually see?
Good answer: Listen for descriptions of people your age and with your concerns.
Ask: In the office, does the doctor practice alone or with other physicians?
Good answer: With other physicians who have equally strong credentials. You don't really want someone who practices alone, unless you live in a rural area where that's the norm.
If you get there and find that this doc isn't a match, don't stick it out. It's essential to find someone you feel good about partnering with in your health care.
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The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: On a Diet." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. (c) 2010 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc. The YOU Docs -- Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz -- are authors of the best-selling "YOU: The Owner's Manual" and "YOU: On a Diet." To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs' online home.
Read more about By Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. at ArcaMax.com.
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