Choosing a good doctor can be tough. When you are injured or become ill, you need quick access to quality medical care and a physician that is certified in the right specialty area. On top of that, they need to accept your health insurance, partners with your preferred hospital, and has a clean medical malpractice record. You don’t want to spend too much time and energy searching, but you want to know you’ll be taken care of. So how do you know who to trust?   As experienced medical malpractice lawyers, we see unfortunate cases everyday and have learned a few things about good doctors. The following is some advice on how to find and make an informed choice of doctors in New Jersey. Find local doctors in the field that you need by using some of these websites run by reliable organizations:  

Check Board Certifications and Specializations with The American Board of Medical Specialties

  Checking the board certification and specialization of a physician is a good place to start. It doesn’t guarantee that a doctor is free of disciplinary charges or medical errors, but it will give you some peace of mind. The credibility of a doctor is increased when you can confirm that they are certified in the areas that they claim to be. You will have more peace of mind knowing that they recieved regulated training in their specific field.   Ask the doctor or search online to find their specialty area and then visit The American Board of Medical Specialties to confirm whether a doctor is certified. This organization operates of database with information about physicians, their certifications and specialty areas, and whether that has been recently maintained.  

Find out Basic Information and Affiliations with Medicare

  Contact the doctor to find out what health insurance they accept and which hospitals they operate in. You can check their website for this information or visit a database maintained by Medicare. This organization offers a complete database providing information on physician health plan and hospital affiliations. Search by name, location, specialty area, and accepted payment to find your next doctor. You can also use the database to access physician contact information, education, residency, and board certifications. This database is open to all users and Medicare eligibility is not a requirement.  

Narrow Down Choices with Your Health Insurance Carrier

  Many health insurance companies offer an online database of every doctor in their network. Visit your health carrier’s website directly if you can to narrow down your choices quickly. This is a convenient tool to give you a better idea of who and what type of doctors you have to choose from in your area.   If your health carrier does provide an online directory like this, it will provide basic information about the physicians that accept their health insurance plans. You may be able to search by specialty, location, affiliations, and accepted plans. Comments and reviews from current patients are new features we are seeing more and more often.  

Use Google to Find Patient Reviews

  A simple Google search is quick way to find out more information about a doctor. You will probably find reviews and comment from the previous patients about their experiences. Don’t be worried if you do not find too many positive reviews or no reviews at all. Patients are often motivated to go online because of negative experiences more than positive ones. A Google search will hopefully help you screen for any red flags or warning signs that could come up.  

Check for Medical Malpractice Action with the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners

  The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs operates the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners and provides information about physician disciplinary action and medical malpractice offenses. This is the organization that handles physician licensing and maintains a database on its website. This will provide you with basic information, health plan affiliations, hospital affiliations, and the status of their licenses. In addition, any medical malpractice claims filed or disciplinary actions taken against them will be noted.  

New Jersey Medical Malpractice Lawyers

  The Hayes Firm is a free lawyer finding service with an extensive network of experienced and skilled New Jersey lawyers. Our attorneys our knowledgeable and successful in handling medical malpractice cases.  If you have suffered an injury due to a surgical or medical error such as misdiagnosis of a serious illness, birth injuries, or hospital malpractice, we can connect you with a local lawyer today.