Ask yourself the following questions.
Access
- Is the doctor accepting new patients?
- Is the doctor in my plan’s network?
- Can the doctor treat patients at the network hospital of my choice?
Experience
- Does the doctor have experience treating patients with my health conditions?
- Is the doctor highly rated by people or groups I respect?
Location
- Is the doctor’s office easy to get to?
List doctors who meet some or all
of the above qualifications. We’ve
made it easy for you. Just go to our
website at www.bcbsfl.com and
click on Provider Directory. You can
search for doctors within your
area and get basic information about
them and their practice. You also
may wish to:
- Ask a doctor or someone else who works in health care (such as a nurse).
- Ask family members, friends and neighbors.
- Call your hospital’s doctor referral service—which will give you only the names of doctors who work at that hospital.
- Call your local medical society.
- Visit the American Medical Association website at www.ama-assn.org (select Doctor Finder) for a list of area doctors.
Ask the doctor, a nurse or office
manager about the factors important
to you. In addition to those listed in
Step 1, you may want to ask:
- What are the office hours?
- Who covers for the doctor when he or she is off duty?
- How long does it take to get an appointment for a routine visit or for urgently needed care?
- How long are typical office waits?
- Does the doctor’s office send reminders about tests you should have?
- Does the doctor (or someone in the doctor’s office) give advice over the phone for common medical problems?
- Is the doctor in the e–Medicine program?
During this first visit, you will learn
if it is easy to talk with the doctor
and if he or she is right for you.
www.doh.state.fl.us
Click on Practitioner Profiling
