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Searching for a Doctor
(Reprinted from the U.S.
Government's www.ConsumerAction.gov
website)
When searching for a
doctor, dentist or other health care professional:
- Find out whether they are licensed
in your state. A state or local
occupational and professional licensing board will be able to
give you this information.
- Research whether they are
board-certified in the appropriate specialty.
You can find this information on the sites of the AMA (www.ama-assn.org)
and American Board of Medical Specialties (www.abms.org).
- Ask how often they have done the
procedure you need and their success rate.
You may be able to find some of this information on the
Internet. For example, the Center for Disease Control reports
the success rates and number of procedures performed by
fertility clinics at www.cdc.gov.
Some states collect and post data on the success of
heart-bypass surgery.
- Check whether there have been any
complaints or disciplinary actions taken.
Websites that can help are
www.docboard.org and
www.healthcarechoices.org. There are also pay-for-use
sites with similar information including
QuestionableDoctors.org,
www.Docinfo.org, and
www.checkbook.org, Visit
www.healthfinder.gov
for more advice on identifying providers
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