1. Word of mouth. Ask friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers about their doctors.
2. Ask your previous doctor. If he doesn’t know anyone in your new area, he might know someone who does.
3. Use the Internet. Social networking sites, forums, sites that rate doctors, lists of licensing board disciplinary actions and malpractice lawsuits, the websites of doctors and the groups they work for, etc.
4. Nurses know things. If you can find a nurse who works in a local hospital or medical center, who has had experience working with lots of different doctors, she may have a good sense of which ones are better than others, and she might have heard some pertinent grapevine gossip.
5. Call the doctor’s office and ask if the receptionist or nurse knows if the doctor ever recommends CAM or refers to CAM providers.
6. Check to see if the doctor’s group includes CAM providers or advertises “integrative” medicine.
7. Ask about credentials: training, board certification, hospital privileges, etc. If you are contemplating surgery, ask about the doctor’s and the hospital’s volume and complication rates for that operation.
8. Interview the doctor. Make a new patient appointment and tell the doctor you want to ask some questions to see if you and he are a good fit. Ask how he goes about deciding when to adopt a new drug and whether he gets his information from drug reps. Ask what he thinks about CAM. If you have a medical problem, ask what experience he has had with that problem. Watch to see if he washes his hands.
9. If for any reason you don’t feel comfortable with a doctor, don’t hesitate to look for one you feel more comfortable with.
10. If you have any doubts about a recommended treatment, it can never hurt to get a second opinion.
11. Ask if the doctor reads SBM. If he answers yes, that’s a good sign! If he answers no, maybe you can get him to start reading it.