Finding a Physician: Some Things Remain the Same; Others Are Changing

// By Joan Trezek //

While healthcare managers, consultants, and physicians may differ on a number of healthcare issues, it’s a safe bet they agree on how consumers generally begin the search for a physician: They ask a trusted source—family, friend, or frequently their primary care physician if they need a specialist.

Once a few physician names have surfaced, the factors that next enter into consideration are 1) the convenience of the physician’s office location and 2) whether the doctor participates in their health plan. That may be as far as agreement goes at this point in time as online resources continue to surface.

Do consumers start the search process in other ways? Sure, but to a much lesser degree. For example, they turn to the Yellow Pages and their local hospital website, which typically includes physician profiles, and they do keyword searches (e.g., “internist in zip code 01234”).

The savvy Internet searcher may include sites like WebMD, Healthgrades, DocSpot, ZocDoc, Vital Signs, and even Angie’s List. These services offer physician-finder information by specialty and location, plus details about training, special areas of interest, languages spoken, ability to accept new patients, and more.

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