There's no doubt that you heard the question "I have this-and-that, do you know a good doctor?" You will, of course, recommend - or not recommend - the one based on your experience but have you ever wonder what a "good doctor" means?
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How to tell a good one from a bad one? What to look and where to look when the need arise? When people say "a good doctor" they usually mean "the best doctor".
The difference between them is huge. Doctors are experts that learn for years, studying under supervision of more experienced colleagues and must go through all sort of tests before someone says "OK, now you can heal sick people on your own."
So, it's safe to assume that any person who earned the privilege to write M.D. after the name is a good expert. Indeed, yes, that's true but it's also true that we are humans, not robots, and that some experts are better than others. Unfortunately, that word "better" can mean the difference between life and death and that's not something we are willing to play with.
Now, who is a good doctor? You certainly heard some advices like: "He must be old and experienced", "He treated me well", "He's full of compassion and can talk with me for hours". All that is OK but remember what doctor’s job is: he must find what's wrong with you.
In medicine jargon, you must get an accurate diagnosis, an accurate description of your problem that leaves no place for doubt what your health problem is. A doctor must talk to you and do some tests and based on his knowledge and experience find that diagnosis. If he can do that accurately and fast - he's a good doctor.
If your health problem is misdiagnosed you may have more problems leaving the doctor's office than you had when you stepped in. Wrong diagnosis brings two very bad things: your primary illness will not be treated, and you'll get drugs you don't need. Those drugs may cause you an irreparable harm. So, a good doctor - before all other things - means that he is good at diagnostics.
If, and only if, that first requirement is met, we can talk about other things. A good doctor can recognize your mood and speak with you accordingly. It's one thing to speak with a fearless person and other to deal with a person scared to death because it has - common flu. A good doctor will ask you about your family history, daily habits, and the environment you live in. If he omits one group of those question, don't remind him - go to another doctor.
A good doctor will not prescribe you drugs based on your words only, he must do the usually battery of tests, from blood pressure checking to breathing to MRI and what not. If your doctor is looking at his watch while he speaks with you or during blood pressure checking - say thanks and leave.
If he say "We'll do this test just to be sure", ask him to elaborate. There are many situations when an additional test is good but that must be explained. "Just to be sure" is not good enough. A test may be invasive, costs you some money and a lot of nerves, so - you should get an explanation.
How to find a good doctor? Certainly, there are rating systems for hospitals in some countries but even then there are no satisfying ratings for doctors. That leaves us with the word of mouth. There's nothing better than a good recommendation so you should ask your friend(s), try to go their way and after that follow our simple rules.
One more advice: ask your general practice doctor to recommend you a good internist. They know how to recognize a whole spectrum of diseases and usually have an additional training in cardiology, rheumatology or some other field, so they are very capable. And remember: if it takes several visits to get a diagnosis - run like hell. ■