Passing this examination certifies the physician as having met certain published standards for the specialty. For example, an anemic patient may want to find a doctor who specializes in hematology. Patients with particular health interests or concerns may want to locate a health care provider with the same interests. For example, an enthusiastic athlete may want to see a doctor who focuses on sports medicine. Patients should consider whether or not it s important to them if the doctor s office is nearby or far away.
Referrals can help patients narrow the search for a new doctor to a few candidates.
Patients can seek referrals from doctors or other health care professionals they know and trust. Patients can also ask their current doctors for referrals to specialists, such as pediatricians or obstetricians. Although asking family members, friends, and coworkers is another way to get referrals, it s a good idea to find out why someone is recommending a particular doctor because one person's preferences for a doctor may or may not be the same as another s. People should ask if the doctor is accepting new patients and find out how the office operates. This site provides information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States, including more than 650,000 doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy or osteopathic medicine.