How to Choose a Doctor Worksheet

Your Doctor:

Questions to Ask:

Are you board certified?

Board certification indicates that a doctor has been trained in a certain specialty and has chosen to take certification exams given by doctors in the specialty. To maintain their certification, doctors must undergo continuing education after passing the exam. Specialists who have reached a higher level of achievement are receive the title of Fellow.

What is your specialty?

Do you have a subspecialty?

What training have you had in treating my type of cancer

How long have you been in practice

Experience is an essential clue. Years in practice are one measure, but the number of procedures performed or people treated for cancer also is significant. Because doctors doing research have usually published their findings in medical journals, you might ask for copies of articles in order to learn about their philosophy and approach.

How can I locate articles that my doctor may have published on her or his research or on my type of cancer?

You may want to search on-line databases, such as Medline, which is available through the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Web Site at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed.

How many patients with my illness have you treated in the past year?

Experience is important, but numbers in treating a particular type of cancer will be dependent somewhat on how common the cancer is within the population.

Are you or others in your practice involved in clinical trials?

You want access to clinical trials if possible. If your doctor offers clinical trials, this indicates a certain level of academic/clinical expertise. Medical school affiliated hospitals usually offer clinical trials.

What are your office hours? What is the usual wait for a patient to be seen?

You want hours that are flexible and that fit with your schedule. Ask if the office is open on Saturdays. If the wait averages 2 hours, you may want to consider a less crowded environment.

How can you be contacted outside those hours?

The process of contacting your doctor in the off office hours needs to be simple and accessible. It should include coverage by a competent oncologist at all times, who can speak with you directly about your medical problem. Most office practices have a doctor on call to take calls from patients 24 hours/day.

Who supervises your patients when you are on vacation?

Your doctor's office should inform you when your doctor is going on vacation if you are being seen on a regular basis. The covering doctor should have similar background, experience, and credentials to your primary doctor. Your doctor may have a nurse practitioner that you know well. You may request that he or she cover your care for more continuity.

Who besides you will be on your health care team?

You should minimally have a nurse and possibly a social worker on your health care team. You may want to make certain you have introduced yourself to the entire team for any future needs. If the doctor visit is typically 3 minutes long and the nurse visit is 30 minutes, you need to consider your comfort level with that system.

What hospitals are you affiliated with?

A teaching affiliation with a prestigious medical school may be a plus. Academic doctors are also in touch with the newest, latest therapies.

Which hospital do you use to admit your cancer patients to, and why?

Is it possible to be directly admitted to the hospital under your doctor's recommendation without going through the emergency room first? Evaluate the practicality of that hospital for you and its location. What is its local reputation?

May I bring someone with me to my appointment?

If I am hospitalized, may I bring a family member to stay with me? What is the facility's visiting policy? You will want to know if family and friends are welcome as support throughout your cancer experience.

Will you accept my type of health insurance?

Your Questions:

 

 

Notes:

 

 

Source: American Cancer Soceity