I am always amazed when an adult, even with an advanced degree, does not do more to check out any specialist they chose. Of course, if their health plan is an HMO they may not have a lot of choice. I do not understand why anyone would get their health care from an HMO, unless financially that is all that is possible. Yet, often these same people spend money on things they could do without.
Whenever I have to check on a doctor, I want to see where he or she went to college, medical school, and if they are board-certified in their specialty. Now that nurses are getting doctor of nurse practitioner degrees, you want to be sure the individual you are choosing is an M.D., not a DNP, a neuropathic doctor, or an osteopath. It was a lot easier when I was growing up and we did not have most of these specialties. Of course, even an M.D. graduating from a known medical school can be bad. I referred my teenage granddaughter to a woman M.D. who had graduated from the same medical school I had gone to. I did not realize how badly the school was doing with their students, which I now know. The M.D. neither took a history and did not do a physical examination, but ordered a lot of lab tests. She did not order a urinalysis which would have been important. Nor did she ever contact my granddaughter again. I had to use a young voice and call for the results using my granddaughter's medical number.
I would check not only the things I mentioned, but also any reviews that are listed on the Internet. Asking a friend who is an M.D. can help but he or she may not know how the doctor practices. I have had such an experience and it was not good.
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