MAY 2016 ON HEALTH CONSUMER REPORTS 11 ConsumerReports.org/health ILLUSTRATIONS: GETTY IMAGES I f you’re looking for a new doctor, your first instinct may be to call friends and family for a recommendation or to scour the Internet to see what other people think about local healthcare pro- viders. But those people may have differ- ent insurance coverage or requirements for a doctor than you do, so there are better strategies—ones that are backed by research or include infor­ mation from professional medical organizations. Start by asking healthcare profession- als you respect who they would recom- mend. Then look through your health insurance plan’s directory to determine which of those doctors also accept your insurance. Check to see which candi- dates have office locations and office hours that are convenient. After you whittle down your list to a few names, call them to confirm that they still ac- cept your insurance and are taking new patients. Then before you decide: CHECK MEDICAL CREDENTIALS First, you’ll want to determine whether any prospective physician is board- certified—which means he or she has gone beyond the competency standards required to get a medical license, and has undergone rigorous testing and peer evaluation in a specific area, such as internal medicine or dermatology. You’ll find that information on the American Board of Medical Specialties website, at certificationmatters.org, or on your state’s department of health website. KNOW THE DOCTOR’S HOSPITALS Many hospitals now employ “hospital- ists,” physicians who provide in-patient treatment. That means the doctor you end up choosing may not be able to give you hands-on care if you are hospi- talized. Ideally, however, you want your doctor to have admitting or consulting privileges at the facility of your choice so The Proactive Patient that he or she can be as involved as pos- sible in your care if you’re in the hospital. Unless you live in a remote commu- nity, you probably have several hospital options reasonably nearby for elective surgery and other services. Safety should be your primary concern, and you can now check Consumer Reports’ hospital Ratings free to determine how well local facilities do at preventing infections, at ConsumerReports.org/hospitalratings. FIND OUT ABOUT PHARMA MONEY Some doctors have financial relation- ships with drug or medical device companies, which can mean that they receive funding for research, speaking fees, or free meals and travel accommo- dations for conferences. Why should you care? Because you want to be sure that any doctors you see would prescribe the best possible drug or device for you, with- out a bias toward one with which they have significant financial ties. At the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments website, you can see whether and how much a company has paid a doctor and what the fee was for (such as food and beverages), at cms.gov/ openpayments. The ProPublica Dollars for Docs website, at propublica.org/ series/dollars-for-docs, will also name the drug or device any payments are related to, if those data are available, and list doctors who have received the highest payments by state. SEARCH FOR SANCTIONS Before you decide on a doctor, you want to make sure he or she has not been sanctioned for professional misconduct such as medical negligence, fraud, or drug or alcohol abuse. (Sanctions can include reprimands, probation, and re- striction, suspension, or even loss of a physician’s medical license.) At present, a physician is not required to notify you if he or she has been disci- plined. To find out whether a physician on your “maybe” list is practicing while on probation or had prior disciplinary actions, look him up on your state medi- cal board site. You can find a directory of state medical boards on the website of the Federation of State Medical Boards, at fsmb.org/policy/contacts. Orly Avitzur, M.D., M.B.A., is Consumer Reports’ medical director. Board certified in neurology, she is a fellow of the Ameri- can Academy of Neurology, a clinical instructor at the Yale University School of Medicine, and a medical consultant to the New York Rangers hockey team. Finding Doctor Right Shopping for a new physician? Before you search Yelp or post your request to friends on Facebook, take these four important actions. Orly Avitzur M.D., M.B.A. In your search, use strategies that are backed by research or include information from professional medical organizations.