Local Doctors - Keeping a Community Healthy
Good, competent health care is not always easy to find. While patients in heavily populated areas might have a larger selection pool when choosing a doctor, it becomes more difficult to find the right one when there are so many choices. In sparsely populated areas, the task is equally as difficult because there are few choices.
Referrals are a good way to find a local doctor,
but there are many referral options to navigate in order to find the right doctor.
Word-Of-Mouth
Word-of-mouth recommendations for a physician are very helpful because they provide an unbiased opinion on the doctor’s expertise, professionalism, and staff. Asking friends and family for recommendations also presents the opportunity to ask questions about the doctor that may not be as thorough as a referral service, or online reviews.
Referral Services
Unfortunately, word-of-mouth referrals only work for physicians that friends and family have visited. Referral services can provide information on a larger selection of doctors, even those that do not have an association with the patient’s network of friends and family. Online referrals and forums can often provide the best of both worlds when it comes to choosing a doctor through word-of-mouth, and going through a referral service.
Why Should I Have a One?
One of the biggest advantages to having a local doctor is the ease of making an appointment and accessibility. Having a qualified general practitioner close to home can eliminate the need for an emergency room visit for minor issues if the primary care physician’s office is too far. If there is a need to visit a specialist, it will be easier for the doctor to refer the patient to another physician who is also close, making visits in between the two offices, or hospital much easier on the patient.
What Can a He or She Do for the Community?
Another plus for patients with a local doctor is the ease in treating contagious diseases, that may circulate within a particular community. When there is a contagious disease outbreak, locally-based practitioners have an advantage in diagnosing sick patients because they are familiar with the local population, and may have seen the contagion in their other patient’s.
This advantage works the same for a community suffering from adverse health effects because of its environment. Health issues such as asthma, bronchitis, cancer, and heart disease can sometimes be the effects of poor air or water quality within an immediate environment. Having a local doctor with knowledge of the environment, who can also use local resources to investigate the community’s poor health issues, can help find the cause and may prevent a misdiagnoses.
Starting the search for a new physician before there is a need for one could mean the difference between a good physician, and an excellent, competent one. Consider all options for finding the right one, including word-of-mouth, a referral service and online recommendations. Some services may charge a small fee, but they cut out the need to do personal investigations, and provide a side-by-side comparison to make selecting a local doctor much simpler.
