Choosing and Communicating with Doctors and Other Practitioners

Good and effective medical care begins by choosing the right doctor for your needs. These tips will help you choose your Dr. Right.

The most effective and successful healthcare begins with a respectful rapport between doctors and patients. Wise patients understand what comprises that rapport.

There are two aspects to choosing the right doctor. One aspect is to find one you can partner with, one who fits your communication style. But a good communicator doesn't always have a successful track record. Learn how to research a doctor's credentials to be sure he or she has the competency to help you.

There are dozens of websites to help you find a doctor. Which of the sites is credible or useful? Learn how to do a useful search for a physician online.

What kinds of websites are available to help you choose the right doctor for you?

You would be surprised at what you can learn about doctors using social media and networking like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other sites. You can learn about important attributes that are important for choosing a doctor you will have a long term relationship with. Here is what you can learn about using social media and networking websites to...

We can easily learn about a doctor's credentials like licensing or board certification online, but learning about a doctor's attitudes and personality require a different approach, through social media. Learn how to use social media to choose a doctor.

If you are researching doctors, there are a number of things you can learn about them through their participation in social media like Facebook or Twitter. Here are some steps to help you find information about doctors on social media and networking sites.

We hear the term "primary care" -- savvy patients know exactly what PCPs do and what to expect from their care. GPs, internists, family practice, pediatrics, OB-GYN and geriatrics may all be considered primary care.

When a patient has a difficult time getting a diagnosis, or thinks he may have been misdiagnosed, it could be because he is working with the wrong kind of specialist.

Patients sometimes find that their doctors don't like it when they have researched information about diagnoses and treatment options on the Internet. Here is a plan for sharing health information you find online effectively.

Sometimes we encounter a doctor who is so arrogant and condescending that we can't get the care we need. Learning to deal with an arrogant or egotistical doctor may be necessary for improving our health.

In the old days, it seemed like most doctors had a pleasant bedside manner. But today we get frustrated because doctors are in such a hurry and may seem brusque and unfriendly. Learn what patients can do to improve a doctor's bedside manner.

Once you understand the reasons your doctor won't return a telephone call or an email, then you can better understand how to get him or her to communicate with you by phone or email anyway. Here are some steps to take to engage your doctor by phone or email.

When we know it is time to change doctors, sometimes it seems impossible to find a primary care physician. Why is it so difficult and what can we do instead?

Take these steps to help you identify the best doctor to work with to get a second opinion about your diagnosis or possible treatment.

This is a process for working with your second opinion doctor to find the best outcomes for your medical condition.

When we have unusual symptoms, the doctor recommends a variety of tests to help diagnose. Sometimes we don't understand why there are so many, or why some of those tests are necessary. One answer is, "follow the money."

Patients who have been to visit a number of specialists or other providers are often frustrated because no one will review all the reports or tests or help them coordinate their care. When we understand why this happens, we can take steps to improve our own experience.

Whether or not a doctor accepts a certain form of insurance is all based how much your insurance company is willing to pay for his services. How does that work? Why do doctors accept some payers and not others? How does this affect a patient's care?

We patients get frustrated when our doctors seem to be in such a hurry. We don't understand why they won't take the time to answer our questions. When we understand why this happens, we can take steps to change it, or make it easier to tolerate.

Patients who are modest or embarrassed about their body parts sometimes don't get the medical care they need because of that embarrassment. Read about the roots of this modesty, and some steps patients can take to overcome modesty in a healthcare or medical setting.

Patients report that their doctors will not see them, refusing to make appointments or rejecting their requests for help. What most patients don't realize is that it is their own behavior that may have caused those rejections. Learn more about the reasons doctors may reject difficult patients.

We hear plenty of complaints about doctors and healthcare, but patients should be aware that doctors don't like to deal with difficult patients either. What complaints do doctors have about their patients?

Patients report they have tried to see a doctor but they are denied medical care by any doctor. They report that they have been blacklisted, blackballed or that entries have been made to their records indicating they should not be seen or treated.

Once a patient's relationship with her doctor goes sour, it's time to assess whether it can be fixed, and if so, how to go about repairing the patient-doctor relationship.

Heralded as the consummate example of the perfect family doctor, Marcus Welby, MD was a TV doctor who set the bar much higher than real doctors can possibly achieve.

There are more and more reports that patients are being dismissed by their doctors. They ask "can my doctor fire me?" There are a number of reasons a doctor can fire or dismiss a patient, and some reasons that are illegal. Here is information about doctors who fire their patients, what their responsibilities are, and what to do if your doctor...