NY Times: A Doctor’s Guide to A Good Appointment

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NY Times: A Doctor’s Guide to A Good Appointment

An excerpt:

[Choosing a doctor], You can glance at these online ratings sites, but be sure to take them with an enormous grain of salt…I recommend looking for:

  • A doctor who takes his or her time talking with you, as opposed to making you feel like you’re at a drive-through fast-food joint. 
  • A doctor who engages his or her patients in decision-making, as opposed to simply rattling off a to-do list. 
  • A doctor who you can get in touch with on the phone or through secure email.

You should also check with your insurance company — find out which doctors are in network and conveniently located. ..

If you are looking for a specialist to do a particular procedure (like hip replacement, cataract surgery, a CT-guided biopsy or heart valve surgery), look for a physician who does lots of them…

Timing: If you can schedule yourself to be the first or second visit of the day, you’ll have a better chance at being seen at your scheduled time. Don’t plan your visit when you have to something critical right afterward. 

My take: This is a useful commentary.  It also makes recommendations on finding out how much it will cost (sometimes by calling your insurance company).  Other points I would make:

  • Bring important information with you, like current medications (name, and dose or just bring the prescription container itself), previous test results and growth information
  • Bring a [short] list of questions
  • If you have a flexible schedule, in addition to the first appointments of the day, often the first appointment after lunch has a shorter wait time, particularly for physicians who tend to run late on appointments

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