How to Find a Good Doctor: A Guide to Making the Right Choice

Figuring out how to find a good doctor can feel overwhelming in today’s healthcare marketplace. While more choices are available than ever, many people struggle to understand the differences between various healthcare providers and how they differ from physicians. Whether you’re searching for a primary care physician or a specialist, knowing how to evaluate credentials and other factors to make an informed decision is key to receiving high-quality care. Here’s what you need to know.

Understanding Doctor Credentials

First matter when considering how to find a good doctor is whether the doctor is competent to help you with your problem.  Does the doctor have the right education, training and credentials to provide the care you need. When researching a doctor, look for these key credentials:

• Board Certification: This means the physician has passed rigorous exams in their specialty and continues their education.
• Medical School and Residency: Verify where they trained and whether they completed a residency.
• State Licensing: Ensure they are licensed to practice in your state by checking your state’s medical board website.

When researching a doctor, look for these key credentials:

Medical School

The foundation of a doctor’s training starts with medical school, typically a four-year program that combines classroom education with clinical experience. Attending a reputable, accredited medical school is crucial for gaining a solid medical knowledge base.

Residency Training

After medical school, doctors enter a residency program in their chosen specialty, which lasts three to seven years depending on the field. Residency provides intensive, hands-on training under the supervision of experienced physicians.

Fellowship Training

Some physicians pursue additional specialized training through a fellowship, which can last one to three years. This is called a subspecialty This advanced training is for doctors who want to specialize further, like cardiologists, dermatologic surgeons, or pediatric oncologists.

Board Eligibility and Board Certification

• Board Eligibility: After completing residency, a doctor is considered board-eligible, meaning they can take the certification exam in their specialty.
• Board Certification: Passing the exam grants board certification, demonstrating a doctor’s expertise and commitment to maintaining high standards in their field. Board-certified doctors often undergo regular continuing education and re-certification.

State Licensing

Doctors must be licensed by the state where they practice. This involves passing national exams and meeting state-specific requirements. You can verify a doctor’s license through your state’s medical board website.

DEA Registration

Doctors who prescribe controlled substances must obtain a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number. This credential ensures they meet the standards required to prescribe medication responsibly.

Hospital Privileges

Hospital privileges allow a doctor to admit and treat patients in a specific hospital. Privileges indicate that the hospital has reviewed and approved the doctor’s credentials and competence.

Insurance Credentialing

For a doctor to accept your insurance, they must undergo insurance credentialing. This process verifies the doctor’s education, training, and licensing to ensure they meet the insurer’s standards.

How to Find a Good Doctor: Bedside Manner

In addtion to a doctor’s technical knowledge and abilities their professionalism, communication and interpersonal style can have an impact. Healthcare is a social interaction.  A patient is in a vulnerable situation. It’s important to feel safe and be able to trust your doctor.

But what we call bedside manner, which is interpersonal style, is complex. One person’s bad bed bedside manner is another person’s perfect bedside manner. And we often experience a doctor’s bedside manner based on matters they cannot control.  Are we in a rush? Did we have trouble parking? Sometimes a patient’s perception of a doctor may be influenced by things the doctor cannot control such as their age, race, or gender.

A researcher at Harvard Business School found that there are two qualities that most people are concerned about when meeting someone new– whether they are safe or not safe and whether they are competent or not competent. It would be expected to assume that we would all want our doctors to be both safe and competent. Interestingly the research found that biases often influence our experience of new people such that their being competent is perceived negatively. For example professionals (such as doctors) are often viewed as competent but not safe if they are African American or women.

The bottomline is to find a doctor you feel comfrotable with. Doctors have different personalities just like other people.  Find someone with an interpersonal style that you can work with.

Is Your Doctor a Doctor?: Providers vs Physicians

One of the first steps in finding a good doctor is understanding who is actually a doctor. Not everyone who comes into your exam room wearing a white coat is a physician.

With the corporatization of medicine, there has been a cultural shift toward using the term “provider” instead of doctor.  This makes it confusing for patients to know the appropriate role and level or expertise of the person taking care of them.  Many patients don’t realize that not all healthcare “providers” have the same level of education, training, expertise and credentials. Physicians, who tend to have the most expertise, usually don’t like to be referred to as “providers.” Here’s a quick breakdown:

Physicians or Doctors (MDs and DOs)

A physician is a medical doctor (MD) or a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) who has completed:

• A four-year medical degree
• An accredited residency program (which lasts at least three years and provides hands-on clinical training)
• Board certification in their specialty (optional but highly recommended)

Mid-Level Providers (Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants)

Mid-level providers include nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), who often work alongside physicians but have different levels of training. Increasingly non-physicians are taking on the role of healthcare provider:

• Nursing Practitioner (NP): Registered Nurses (RN) are a type of healthcare professional that provides direct patient care but who does not diagnosis and prescribe medication. RNs work directly with physicians and execute physician orders. Hospital ratings are usually a reflection of the quality of the nursing staff. Some nurses receive a doctorate in nursing and have the title “doctor” but are not physicians.  A DNP (Doctorate of Nursing Practice) can practice and prescribe within a scope of a credential such as geriatrics, psychiatry or women’s health. Depending on the state and amount of experience, DNPs may need to work under the supervision of a physician or independently. Unlike board-certified physicians, DNPs don’t have to complete a medical residency in their area of expertise. Despite the “doctor” title, they are not physicians.
• Physician Assistant (PA-C): Physician assistants, or physician associates, are a type of healthcare professional who has general primary care education and can assess and prescribe. Because they are supposed to be closely supervised by doctors they are able to move from specialty to specialty without residency training. Physician assistants are generally not board-certified or required to maintain specific CME requirements in a specialty. Some physician assistants get a Doctorate Physician Assistant. These programs are primarily administrative and themselves don’t provide and additional clinical expertise. They also do not complete a residency and are not considered physicians.

Physicians have significantly more training, particularly in diagnosis and complex cases. If you want the highest level of expertise, look for a board-certified physician in your needed specialty.

Primary Care vs. Specialists

Finding a good doctor also requires that you find the right kind of doctor for your needs:

Primary Care Physicians (PCPs)

A primary care physician is your first point of contact for general health concerns, preventive care, and routine check-ups. They can be:

• Family medicine doctors
• Internists (specialists in adult medicine)
• Pediatricians (for children)

A good PCP can help you manage ongoing conditions and refer you to specialists when needed.

Specialists

Specialists focus on specific medical areas, such as:

• Dermatologists (skin)
• Cardiologists (heart)
• Endocrinologists (hormones)
• Orthopedic surgeons (bones and joints)

If you have a particular health concern, a PCP can refer you to the right specialist.

The Risks of Relying on Online Reviews

While online reviews can provide insight into a doctor’s bedside manner and office environment, they have limitations:

• Reviews are subjective and may reflect personal preferences rather than medical expertise.
• People are more likely to leave reviews after negative experiences.
• People often rate the doctor to respond about other issues such as hospital parking, their insurance plan, etc.
• Some reviews may be fake or biased.

Reviews really reflect the reviewers own experience which may not accurately affect the quality of doctor or an office– whether it is positive or negative.  And research shows that positive reviews can be associated with bad patient outsomes and increased costs. Doctors worried about bad reviews may given unnecessary drugs and order unncessarily tests –both or which can have side effects– in order to make patients “happy.”

Instead of relying solely on reviews, use them as one piece of your research while considering other factors.

Where to Get Reliable Recommendations for a Good Doctor

1. Your Primary Care Doctor

If you need a specialist, your PCP is one of the best sources for a trustworthy referral.

2. Family and Friends

People in your network can share personal experiences and recommend doctors they trust.

3. Coworkers

If your workplace offers health insurance, colleagues may have insights into which providers are in-network and reputable.

How to Find a Good Doctor: Final Thoughts

Finding a good doctor requires more than just a quick internet search. By understanding the differences between healthcare providers, seeking reliable recommendations, and evaluating credentials, you can make an informed choice that leads to better healthcare outcomes. Prioritize expertise, experience, and a good patient-doctor relationship to ensure the best care possible.