FYI, How to choose a doctor

[Anwyn 0]

Hi everyone,

In my former life (before kids) I was a credentials coordinator for a large area hospital system. What that means in a nutshell is that I queried various agencies and organizations and obtained references to make sure that the physicians applying to be on the medical staff were competent and well trained.

The general public can't make a lot of the queries by themselves, but there are some things you can do to make sure that the lapband doctor, and for that matter any doctor that you choose is well trained.

1. Call the state licensing board for the state you live in. Michigan has a 900 number where you can call and find out if there are any disciplinary actions against the doc. All you need is the correct name spelling for any MI licensed practitioner. If there are disciplinary actions (usually drug use, license suspensions, etc) they have to send you a copy of the report. Each state has their own licensing board, and they should all have some way for you to find out if any doc is in good standing. We've all heard the stories about the people who were killed or injured by crazies who walked into a hospital and they didn't even have a license.

2. Ask the office where the doc went to medical school, where they had their residency, and what type of residency it was. In my personal opinion (so please don't sue me) I would steer clear of anyone who went to the American University of the Caribbean for medical school. It's considered the school of last resort after every other school has rejected you... Again, just my personal opinion.

3. Find out where they are on the medical staff. Call the hospital and ask for the credentialing department. If they don't have one, ask for the medical staff office. Explain that you are going to be seeing a new doctor, and find out if they can recommend a good one. Depending on the experience/helpfulness of the person, they will probably steer you towards the doc who is most respected in their field.

4. Another note about training: depending on when the physician went through their training, the length of their residency may vary. For example, there are still a few older family docs out there who had a 1 year internship after medical school and that's it. Make sure your doc has had at the minimum a 3 year internship/residency. If they are a specialist they should also have an additional 1-2 year fellowship.

I hope you guys find this helpful, and again these are just my personal opinions.