When you have a family with kids, adults and even seniors all living in the same home, it is nice to be able to see the same doctor. There are still family medicine clinics in most area of the United States that are able to offer this continuum of care for patients of all ages.
Finding the right family medicine doctor for your family is an important decision. You want to have a professional, compassionate, and personable doctor with experience, training, and a top reputation. It may not be as difficult as you think to find all these qualities in one professional in a clinic close to you, but it will take some a bit of research to narrow down your option.
Ask Around
If you are new to an area or just need to find a new family medicine doctor, asking for references from people you know and trust is a good start. This can include realtors if you are moving in somewhere new, as well as neighbors and colleagues. Often school counselors can provide a family with a list of doctors accepting patients in their neighborhood.
Online Research
It is also possible to use the internet to do your research to find a family medicine clinic and professional. This is also a great way to narrow down facilities and clinics as well, and you have the ability to compare different clinics literally side by side online to see which offers the most comprehensive range of services.
Doctors and Departments
Some family medicine specialists are in private practice. This means that the doctor has his or her own offices, and they are not affiliated with a particular clinic or hospital system.
When considering these doctors, finding out if they have admitting privileges as well as what labs and testing facilities they use will be critical. It doesn’t make sense to try to find a doctor in your area only to have to travel across town or to another city to complete tests or have other necessary services provided.
Last, but not least, be sure to check that the family medicine doctor you are considering can treat everyone in the family. This means that they have experienced in working with any special or known health conditions of anyone in your family. This is essential, and should be a priority, particularly if there are chronic or ongoing health issues requiring long-term care.
