What Is The Best Way To Research A Doctor?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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To research a doctor, you’ll need to start with his or her name and location.

Go to the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) website

to check the basics with their DocInfo.org search function.

How do I find reviews on doctors?

  1. Yelp.
  2. Vitals.
  3. Google My Business.
  4. Healthgrades.
  5. ZocDoc.
  6. RateMDs.
  7. Doctor.com.
  8. Wellness.com.

How do I find out if a doctor has any complaints?

Although hospitals have access to a federal database to look up the disciplinary histories of doctors in every state, the public cannot access it. To find information about a doctor, the best place to start is

your state medical board’s license lookup page

.

Has my doctor had a malpractice lawsuit?

If your doctor has ever been sued in your state, there’s a record of it. Many of these records are available online, but if they’re not, you can pay for a copy of it—unless it’s confidential. Just

call the County Clerk’s office

in the county where your doctor practices.

Why is it so hard to find a doctor?

Many will have difficulty obtaining care because of a lack of insurance and provider shortages. … The basic tool for finding a new doctor — the insurance provider directory — is

often flawed and list providers as in-network

that no longer take the insurance or are not taking new patients.

What do physicians study?

Students learn about

science, innovations in treatments and diagnosis, problem-solving, prevention and care, communication skills, and medical ethics

. During the last year of medical school, students decide which type of medicine they will practice based on personal interests, clinical experiences, and other factors.

How do you compare doctors?

  1. HealthGrades. http://www.healthgrades.com. …
  2. Hospital Compare. https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html. …
  3. Leapfrog Group. http://www.leapfroggroup.org. …
  4. National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) http://recognition.ncqa.org/ …
  5. Quality Check. http://www.qualitycheck.org/

How do you check a doctor’s performance?

  1. Confirm state credentials. The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) can tell you if the surgeon is licensed in your state. …
  2. Confirm surgical certification. …
  3. Uncover professional reprimands. …
  4. Check ratings, number of procedures performed and complication rates.

What makes the doctor reliable?



Physicians should be personable, great listeners, and empathetic to the concerns of their patients

,” he elaborates. “They should not be condescending or arrogant. They should treat others as they want to be treated.” “Physicians should be personable, great listeners, and empathetic to the concerns of their patients.”

What is classed as medical negligence?

Medical negligence is

substandard care that’s been provided by a medical professional to a patient

, which has directly caused injury or caused an existing condition to get worse. There’s a number of ways that medical negligence can happen such as misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment or surgical mistakes.

What percent of doctors are sued for malpractice?


Thirty-four percent of all physicians

have been sued, and 16.8 percent have been sued two or more times. On average 68 liability claims were filed per every 100 physicians.

What are preventable medical errors?

Preventable Medical Error Causes

Medical errors

happen

when, despite there being a more correct treatment path for the patient, a different treatment is used inadvertently or contrary to what a reasonable practitioner would have chosen under similar circumstances.

How do I complain about medical negligence?

The first necessary step if you are a victim of medical negligence is to file a

Complaint against the doctor with the State Medical Council

. The victim can file a complaint in the state consumer court also and there can be a criminal suit filed by the patient against the hospital or the doctor himself.

How do I become a specialist sooner?

  1. Get your primary care doctor involved. …
  2. Get on a cancellation list. …
  3. Ask your primary care doctor to do an e-consult with a specialist. …
  4. Escalate your request. …
  5. Be flexible. …
  6. Opt for an online visit. …
  7. Try urgent care.

What is DO vs MD?

If they went to a traditional (allopathic) medical school, they’ll have

“MD” after their name

, indicating they have a doctor of medicine degree. If they went to an osteopathic medical school, they’ll have “DO” after their name, meaning they have a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree.

What is the Physician Compare website?

Currently, Physician Compare is a website that

allows consumers to search for, and obtain information about

, physicians and other healthcare professionals who provide Medicare services.

How do you write doctor credentials?

Generally, physicians prefer the title like this: John Jones, M.D. — and if it’s tied in to correspondence, they want it followed by the salutation, “

Dear Dr. Jones

…”. Those with Ph. D.

What personality type is a doctor?

The most common personality types among the junior doctors were

ESTJ

(15.4%), INTP (12.8%), and ESFJ (10.3%), while among the attending physicians, the most common types were ISTJ (23.7%) and ESTJ (18.6%). Both junior doctors and attending physicians expressed personality preferences for sensing, thinking, and judging.

How do I find out how many procedures a doctor has performed?

What is my surgeon’s track record? You can look up a surgeon’s scorecard of how many of the same procedures they have done and their complication rate here: projects.propublica.org/surgeons.

What is Surgeon scorecard?

The Surgeon Scorecard is

a searchable database billed as “death and complication rates” of 17,000 U.S. surgeons for several procedures

. More accurately, though, it’s the rate of deaths and hospital readmissions known to be associated with complications.

What is a bad doctor?

Whether they are unsympathetic, brusque with patients, overworked, disrespectful of other doctors’ opinions, a bad fit for the profession, or out of touch with the latest treatments and therapies, you (and your patients) should avoid these physicians like the plague.

Are doctors really smart?


Doctors are smart

. The IQ of the average American physician falls somewhere between 120-130, putting most doctors in the Very Superior Intelligence category on a standard IQ test.

How difficult is it to prove medical negligence?

Negligence. Proving negligence is more than difficult—it’s expensive. To prove negligence you’ll have

to demonstrate that the doctor did not do what another doctor would have reasonably done under the same circumstances

. The most common way this is done is by bringing in expert witnesses.

Can I sue my doctor for not helping me?


Yes

. You have the right to sue if your doctor gets your injury or illness wrong, and you were physically or emotionally harmed as a result. Misdiagnosis that leads to the patient’s harm is a form of medical negligence, and you can file a medical lawsuit for it, against your doctor or hospital, to get compensated.

What is the average payout for medical negligence?

Average Malpractice Payouts by Field

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the current overall average payout for medical malpractice is

$329,565

. This number encompasses many verdicts and settlements; individual payouts vary widely according to the area of medicine involved.

Which medical specialty has highest malpractice?

Specialty Percentage of physicians who’ve been sued
OB-GYN and women’s health

83%
Specialized surgery 80% Radiology 76% Emergency medicine 76%

What are the top 5 medical errors?

  • Misdiagnosis. Errors in diagnosis are one of the most common medical mistakes. …
  • Medication Errors. Medication errors are one of the most common mistakes that can occur during treatment. …
  • Infections. …
  • Falls. …
  • Being Sent Home Too Early.

What is the most common medical error?

Misdiagnosis. The most common type of medical error is

error in diagnosis

. This is not surprising, since the right diagnosis is the key to your entire medical error. A wrong diagnosis can result in delay in treatment, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Where do most medical errors occur?

High error rates with serious consequences are most likely to occur in

intensive care units, operating rooms, and emergency departments

. Medical errors are also associated with extremes of age, new procedures, urgency, and the severity of the medical condition being treated.

What is the most common cause of malpractice suits against physicians?

Multiple studies have concluded that

misdiagnosis

is the most common cause of malpractice claims. Misdiagnosis includes failure to diagnose a medical problem that exists or making a diagnosis that is incorrect.

Are doctors fired for malpractice?

When Do Doctors Lose Their License? In all likelihood, doctors will lose their license

to practice after two determinations

: if they are deemed a threat to society or if their behavior is so negligent and reckless that it goes beyond ordinary negligence allegations.

James Park
Author
James Park
Dr. James Park is a medical doctor and health expert with a focus on disease prevention and wellness. He has written several publications on nutrition and fitness, and has been featured in various health magazines. Dr. Park's evidence-based approach to health will help you make informed decisions about your well-being.