researching a dr.

[earl25]

 
 I've seen a lot of posts about bad results, unethical  practices so here's how I go about it

 First I have to admit this is not a guarantee of anything. You can fine a totally clean doctor and still get messed up. this can give you an idea about the overall character of the dr.
 I personally recommend to hire a private investigator(who specializes in malpractice). it is pricey but they know what they're doing and will do it better than you. They also have access to more databases that aren't available to the public. but if you cant afford it here's some tips on what to do by yourself. my guy went so far as to check to see if the dr. defaulted on student loans in med school.

1)Contact/Google the states medical board and do a search for the dr. most have online searches available.  This will list any sanctions against him  from the medical board. If there is something you can usually click on it and it will bring up the charge.

2) contact the country clerks office in that doctor  area of practice. Also contact the ones neighboring or any other area he has practiced in (most dr.'s have resumes online you can see where they've been). Some clerks will tell you info over the phone, others will ask for something in writing, some charge a fee.  it's worth it.

3)contact the better business bureau for the dr.'s area. The medical practice is still a business. most complaints will be related to business practices like over biled, lied to about cost etc.

4) search sites like pubmed for articles the doctor published. this is beneficial  especially for a procedure that isn't so common (high lefort, chin wing etc). or if the doctor rambles on about how much of an expert he is.


5)Google the dr. name. do it by itself, with scam after,butcher etc.

6) go to every jaw surgery/cosmetic message board and search for his name. taking this with a grain of salt because many doctors pay companies to go  online and either post fake good reviews/posts for themselves or put bad posts for a competitor doctor.  this is far more rampant than you think. I actually know someone who owns one of these companies and who mainly works for hair transplant doctors.he's spent years trashing or hyping certain doctors.

7)ask the doctors office if they have malpractice insurance. certain states like florida don't require it.no

[nrelax11]

Does it matter if theres not a lot of reviews or info on your surgeon online? Ive heard a few good things about my surgeon, but hes not some well known surgeon that you hear about all over the boards.

[Modigliani]

Good stuff, Earl.

Isn't it a shame that we're even having to think like this though 

[earl25]

Does it matter if theres not a lot of reviews or info on your surgeon online? Ive heard a few good things about my surgeon, but hes not some well known surgeon that you hear about all over the boards.

no internet reviews doeant mean much .check with the. places i mentioned

[nrelax11]

no internet reviews doeant mean much .check with the. places i mentioned

K, I'll check it all out.

[falcao]

f**ked up is what it is - the Hippocratic Oath means nothing to most of these guys, sadly.

They take a modified version nowadays, not the classic one. For those in private practice, I would suggest further modification, starting with: i swear i will see my patients as $$$ and nothing but $$$. I will cheat and lie if that means making more $$$.

At least in this way you know who you are dealing with.

Seriously, when dealing with any other business you know they have only one goal, profit. We have to learn to think the same way about doctors in private practice. And they should be required to release a profit and loss statement, balance sheet etc. publicly every financial year. If i am buying a service from them, i have better rights, especially in court, as a customer. I paid for this, you did not deliver. Here is the evidence. I want a refund. Period. This is the only way to make them more honest, upfront and force them to do the right thing by either delivering or sending you away on time. If your house falls, you take your builder to court. Of course it wouldbe different for doctors in the public system. But you want to make millions in private practice, you will act and have the same accountability as a business.

[earl25]

Also I want to add get as much as you can in writing ,e-mail is fine.
 
things like what the plan is, do they have malpractice insurance, whats the revision policy.i know many people who got implants from a top doctor who pre surgery said if a revision is needed it will be at a significantly reduced dr. fee. well she got implants they looked terrible. she went back to the dr. and the dr. said sorry you have to pay full price for a revision. now even if you have it in writing I don't know how much of a difference  it will make, gut its better than not having it.