source: www.cancer.gov
If you liked this article, please visit:http: www.cancer.gov
One way to find a doctor who specializes in cancer care is to ask for a referral from your primary care physician. You may know a specialist yourself, or through the experience of a family member, coworker, or friend.
The following resources may also be able to provide you with names of doctors who specialize in treating specific diseases or conditions. However, these resources may not have information about the quality of care that the doctors provide.
Your local hospital or its patient referral service may be able to provide you with a list of specialists who practice at that hospital.
Your nearest NCI-designated cancer center can provide information about doctors who practice at that center. The NCI-Designated Cancer Centers Find a Cancer Center page provides contact information to help health care providers and cancer patients with referrals to NCI-designated cancer centers located throughout the United States.
The ABMS has a list of doctors who have met certain education and training requirements and have passed specialty examinations. Is Your Doctor Board Certified Exit Disclaimer lists doctors’ names along with their specialty and their educational background. Users must register to use this online self-serve resource, which allows users to conduct searches by a physician's name or area of certification and a state name. The directory is available in most libraries.
The American Medical Association (AMA) DoctorFinder Exit Disclaimer database provides basic information on licensed physicians in the United States. Users can search for physicians by name or by medical specialty.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) provides an online list of doctors who are members of ASCO. The member database Exit Disclaimer has the names and affiliations of nearly 30,000 oncologists worldwide. It can be searched by doctor’s name, institution, location, oncology specialty, and/or type of board certification.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) membership database Exit Disclaimer is an online list of surgeons who are members of the ACS. The list can be searched by doctor’s name, geographic location, or medical specialty. The ACS can be contacted by telephone at 1–800–621–4111.
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Find a Doctor Exit Disclaimer database provides an online list of practicing osteopathic physicians who are AOA members. The information can be searched by doctor’s name, geographic location, or medical specialty. The AOA can be contacted by telephone at 1–800–621–1773.
Local medical societies may maintain lists of doctors in each specialty.
Public and medical libraries may have print directories of doctors’ names listed geographically by specialty.
Your local Yellow Pages or Yellow Book may have doctors listed by specialty under “Physicians.”
If you are a member of a health insurance plan, your choice may be limited to doctors who participate in your plan. Your insurance company can provide you with a list of participating primary care doctors and specialists. It is important to ask whether the doctor you are considering is accepting new patients through your health plan. You also have the option of seeing a doctor outside your health plan and paying the costs yourself. If you have the option to change health insurance plans, you may first wish to consider which doctor or doctors you would like to use, and then choose a plan that includes your chosen physician(s).
If you are using a federal or state health insurance program such as Medicare or Medicaid, you may want to ask whether the doctor you are considering is accepting patients who use these programs.
You will have many factors to consider when choosing a doctor. To make an informed decision, you may wish to speak with several doctors before choosing one. When you meet with each doctor, you might want to consider the following:
Does the doctor have the education and training to meet my needs?
Does the doctor use the hospital that I have chosen?
Does the doctor listen to me and treat me with respect?
Does the doctor explain things clearly and encourage me to ask questions?
What are the doctor’s office hours?
Who covers for the doctor when he or she is unavailable? Will that person have access to my medical records?
How long does it take to get an appointment with the doctor?
If you are choosing a surgeon, you may wish to ask additional questions about the surgeon’s background and experience with specific procedures. These questions may include:
Is the surgeon board certified?
Has the surgeon been evaluated by a national professional association of surgeons, such as the ACS?
At which treatment facility or facilities does the surgeon practice?
How often does the surgeon perform the type of surgery I need?
How many of these procedures has the surgeon performed? What was the success rate?
It is important for you to feel comfortable with the specialist that you choose because you will be working closely with that person to make decisions about your cancer treatment. Trust your own observations and feelings when deciding on a doctor for your medical care.
source: www.cancer.gov
If you liked this article, please visit:http: www.cancer.gov