Finding a doctor

[KrissiK]

How do you find a doctor? A psychologist? I need to get my son tested and I have a list from my insurance company. I don't really feel comfortable sending it to my GP and asking her opinion on any of them. It's a long list. I looked some up and was able to eliminate some (specializing in autism, etc.) but most.... they're just names. So, I just close my eyes and pick?

[Mothersweets]

No help here, sorry! Just wanted to give your post a bump.

 

 

:grouphug: I feel your pain. I've been looking for new doctors, dentists, etc. and have no one to recommend any to me, just a list to choose from. 

[Ripley]

My method varies, depending on the specialty.  Whenever possible I try to use word of mouth, but I know it's not always possible.

 

When I needed to find a psychologist for my child, I googled something like "child psychology xx-test xx-county" and right off the bat eliminated the flashy websites.  I know some people like those, but I want someone whose website is functional but whose energy and resources are put more into other parts of the practice. I'm an odd duck that way.  I figured websites that allowed me to download forms were a good sign - someone in the office was somewhat tech-saavy, interested in saving everyone's time, and busy enough that it made sense to offer the option of downloads.

 

Sometimes I google the professional association + "doctor's name and city."  I don't necessarily need someone active in their association, but the extra info helps trim the list. 

 

Almost always I google up to about 10 of the doctors' names. Sometimes reviews come up, or activities they are active in. If I find a connection to someone, great I call him/her. Maybe we're both golfers or donate to the same political party. I found my eye doctor because she was an active reviewer of our local restaurant scene and we seemed to have the same opinions LOL. 

 

This won't be very popular but :ph34r: in lieu of anything else to start pruning the list by, I went by last name or face and what I perceived to be their general ethnicity.  I wanted someone who might be more likely to understand some of our cultural quirks and differences. It's not a perfect method, nor a very PC method, but it helped trim the list.  I suppose it'd be like a Christian facing marital issues wanting therapy from a likeminded therapist. Or a soldier preferring counsel from someone with a similar background. So I looked for people who might be from the same general part of the world that I come from.  Sometimes I end up with women married to people from that part of the world. That's just as great, they can be a fabulous middle ground for others who straddle cultures!

 

And then I narrow it down by driving distance. For an orthodontist I'd be seeing regularly, I wanted someone close. For a one-time oral surgery it didn't bother me to drive further out and expand my geographical parameters.

 

And for any specialty I always set up appointments with three doctors.  Sometimes they're just phone consults, and every time it can be a time consuming process.  But it's always proven to be a good idea. Three gives me a broad enough cross-reference to know what it is I'm ultimately looking for and want from a doctor.  Sometimes I can't initially discern what or who I want because I'm not familiar enough with the specialty to know what my options are.

 

Good luck finding what you need. If you can't find IRL word of mouth, search for online word of mouth - it's all we really can do, you know?

[Tiramisu]

I have called pediatrician's office. There is usually someone in the office--often the one who does referrals--who get feedback about different specialists. 

 

I'm a little kooky but I always share good experiences with specialists with my pediatrician and the referral people, knowing that someone might be helped by that info.