finding a doctor.

March 22, 2007 11:19 PM

i'm 31. i recently got medical insurance for the first time in 13 years. i am exhibiting some symptoms of stomach cancer and would like to get it checked out. how do i find a good doctor?

i'm in the dallas area.

there are seemingly hundreds of "find a doctor" websites, but what differentiates them? should any of them be relied on, anyhow? where can i find some comments about experiences people have had with various doctors? what critera am i even looking to judge on, besides whether or not my insurance covers them? do i just start with a general practitioner and get referred? if so, what do i look for in *them*?

i'm obviously new to this. what do i do?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

The first place to start is with your new general practitioner or Internist (aka 'Internal Medicine' doctor). Your insurance company has a website, and they've got a physicians list on that website. Start there to find out what doctors accept your insurance plan.

When you make an appointment, tell them you're a new patient but you have some worrying symptoms you urgently need to get checked out, and you haven't been to a doctor in a loooong time. If they still snowball you and tell you that your first appointment can't be made for three months ... pick another name off of the list, and call them. Getting a good GP is hit and miss... I've got a great one now, but I've had horrible ones in the past. Your mission when you go in there is to be an advocate for yourself and ask a LOT of questions. If something worries you, don't be afraid to get a second opinion from someone else.

If your GP agrees with you that your symptoms are worrying, they'll run some tests and probably refer you to a specialist. Your GP generally works with a specific set of specialists in the area -- it's a buddy system, sort of. You can request someone else if you know of someone else, but I've found that going with my GP's reccomendations is generally a decent idea.

Good luck. Hope you feel better soon.
posted by SpecialK at 11:49 PM on March 22, 2007

You're pretty young for gastric cancer--you don't state what your symptoms are, but they could probably be due to a number of things (unless you have a family history of it or some other pre-disposing factors).

I would just start off by finding a general practitioner that your insurance accepts and that's nearby, unless you have a co-worker or know someone who can recommend a doctor. Your typical internist should be able to evaluate you and refer you if needed.
posted by gramcracker at 11:52 PM on March 22, 2007

Recommendations from friends are a good way to find a GP or internist. If you're in north Dallas (Richardson/Plano), and she's still taking new patients, I highly recommend Dr. Pamela Moore. She was very friendly, listened thoughtfully to everything I had to say, took plenty of time with me, didn't hesitate to refer me to a specialist when required but wasn't one of those scrip-and-referral docs, and was generally a good person and great doctor.
posted by hackwolf at 12:55 AM on March 23, 2007

I'd talk to a bunch of people that you know and trust to find a good GP. You may not have one in your community, but some places are blessed with truly wonderful GPs, who really are there because they like, more than anything else, to make people healthy. My GP is like that. He moved his practice to a poorer part of town to make it more accessible, charges poor people less money and offers services to people without insurance, and has this constant sense of peace and familiarity around him. I've also known him since I was a kid.

All this being said, for obvious reasons there is often a one month waiting period to get an appointment with him.

Basically, the best way to stay healthy is to have a doctor that you'd actually enjoy seeing when you're not even feeling sick.
posted by Deathalicious at 1:05 AM on March 23, 2007

And make sure whomever you pick for your doctor, make sure they are in your insurance network. Otherwise, you can possibly get hit for a lot more in expenses than you thought.

Your insurer should have something on their website that lists in-network doctors and hospitals.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:35 AM on March 23, 2007

The NIH has this great new tool for finding medical resources local to you. It's here, and it's called Go Local. I don't know if it's any more useful than the care provider list your insurance should have provided you with, but it's worth checking out.
posted by hought20 at 5:20 AM on March 23, 2007

When I started a job with new insurance in an area where I knew no one (so no recommendations), I basically called my insurance for recommendations for a primary care physician. I was able to specify some criteria (e.g. I needed someone who had night appointments available at times, preferred a female doctor, and wanted them to be within 10 miles of where I lived & worked). This way I got a recommendation that I knew was not going to be an issue with insurance, and four years later I am still very happy with my doctor.

Your primary care physician, as mentioned above, is a great resource for referring you to other doctors/specialists that meet your needs.

However, the process of making a first-time appointment with a new primary care physician and then getting a referral can be time consuming. Doctors often give priority to making appointments for existing patients.

If you are having urgent symptoms, go to an urgent care center or the emergency room.
posted by tastybrains at 6:54 AM on March 23, 2007

One thing to consider, particularly if your insurance requires referrals, is what hospital or group of hospitals your GP is affiliated with. In general, a GP will be most familiar with the specialists who are similarly affiliated, so you want to make sure the specialists are, on the whole, both good and willing to accept your insurance. A GP who works closely with a hospital may also have faster/easier access to test results, specialist reports, etc.

Affiliations can also figure into geography -- I drive past roughly 30 GPs to get to mine in part because she has privileges at the closest hospital, and the ones I pass by do not and would send me 10-15 miles further away.
posted by backupjesus at 7:03 AM on March 23, 2007

My recommendation is to do very good research. Read everything you can get your hands on covering your symptoms and any of the disorders you believe you have. Arming yourself with this knowledge will help you make sure that your Doctor's haven't missed any angles in their analysis. Discovery of illness is a procedural endeavor so having this knowledge will mean you can ask your doctor "what about this test?" or "what about these results?". Information is one of the most powerful tools you can have in treating yourself.

Good luck to you.

Oh and I'm not sure but I imagine if you called some of the top cancer institutes in the country (like Sloan Kettering) they would have affiliations and recommendations for you wherever you are.
posted by postergeist at 11:36 AM on March 23, 2007

It's too bad you're far away from Houston -- M.D. Anderson is one of the very top cancer centres in the country and every bit Sloan-Kettering's equal. Maybe you could visit for a consult?
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 1:20 PM on March 23, 2007

Dallas is only about 5 hours away from Houston. M.D. Anderson is worth it. But it takes a lot to get an appointment. Go see a GP first.
posted by nimsey lou at 3:33 PM on March 23, 2007

Try Revolution Health to see if there are any doctor reviews nearby. They're a new site, and I know in my area there aren't many, but being that Dallas is a pretty big city, you might get lucky...
posted by PandemicSoul at 12:14 AM on March 24, 2007