Choosing the right doctor for any treatment is a tricky task, especially when looking for an industry expert that can handle your unique and complex health requirements and expectations. The more informed and prepared you are about what to look for in a doctor, the better your treatment and healing chances.
That’s why it is important to find a specialist you can trust as he or she would be your go-to person for all your healthcare and well-being requirements. The doctor will be the one who will examine you, educate you, advise you, treat you and help you make the most important decisions about your health and well-being.
One of the first things you should focus on is “what is important to you” in a professional doctor-patient relationship. After that, there are many considerations such as the educational qualifications of your doctor, their success rate, the hospital with which they are associated, and the credibility and reputation of your doctor, to name a few.
Here are the top things to consider while choosing the right doctor:
Table of Contents
Here are 7 Things to Consider While Choosing the Right Doctor
Feel free to skip ahead if one topic catches your eye:
- Licensing
- Education
- Area of Expertise
- Years of Experience
- Previous Patients Review
- Doctor’s Team
- Your Investment
- Take Away
- Licensing, affiliations and associations
You can explore websites operated by administrators of different national and international medical boards to determine whether the doctor of your choice has a good representation with the licensing agencies. This will also help you to authenticate the credibility and reputation of the doctor.
It is also important that you check in which hospital(s) the doctor has worked in the past other than where he or she is working at present. You can even cross-check the profiles of all those hospitals and the designation he or she had there. The hospital’s reputation, be it a super specialty, multispecialty, or tertiary hospital, is crucial due to its patient care facilities and infrastructure. You can then do a comprehensive search over the internet about what people said or say about them.
- Education
The educational qualifications of your doctor must be important to you. The more qualified and educated a doctor is, the more should be his or her expertise in a specialization.
Let us have a close look at some common medical degrees to gain a clear and complete understanding.
- MD: M.D. stands for Doctor of Medicine, and it is one of the two doctoral degrees that doctors acquire.
- MBBS: Stands for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. This degree is provided to medical school or university graduates before they can enter a doctor’s profession.
- M. Ch.: Stands for Magister Chirurgiae in Latin that translates to Master of Surgery in English. This degree is awarded to those who have gained an advanced surgery qualification.
- M.S.: Surgeons who opt for higher studies in surgical procedures and surgery after acquiring M. Ch. earn this degree.
- D.M.: It is the degree that medical school or university graduates go for a specialization in the segment of medicine after they have earned M.D.
- Area of Expertise
The Indian Medical Council has stringent rules and standards for all medical professionals to follow. Therefore you can expect the utmost care from your Indian hospital.All prominent Indian hospitals follow a comprehensive evaluation process to confirm the doctor’s authenticity and expertise in their panels.
The most important consideration is whether your doctor speaks and understands your language. This is precisely where a prominent Indian hospital or medical facility can be the right choice. India, which is home to some of the finest surgeons and nurses, is also home to quality interpreters and linguistic experts, which make it very easy for the patients of any country to communicate freely with the healthcare providers.
Beyond the language itself, you must consider the following factors:
- Did the doctor take time to listen to your doubts and questions and answer them patiently?
- What is the communication style of the doctor?
- Would you feel comfortable talking to your doctor about personal or sensitive health issues?
- Did the doctor interrupt you or dismiss your concerns frequently?
- Did you feel rushed?
- Did the doctor explain things to you clearly and precisely in a way that you could understand?
- Years of Experience
While looking for a doctor, you must focus on his or her years of experience and success rate over the years. This will help you further qualify his or her expertise, which is undoubtedly a crucial factor to identify a top doctor. However, it would be good if you don’t consider years of experience as the only determinant of qualified doctors. You must always look for the doctor and the hospital’s success rate along with his or her years of experience.
- Reviews Of Previous Patients
When you are all ready to find a qualified and specialist doctor, please check Previous Patients Testimonials on doctor or associated hospital websites and social media handles. Remember, finding the right doctor may take some time and effort, but the benefits of having a specialist you feel comfortable with and can trust, will be worth its weight in gold in the long run.
- Doctor’s Team
It is essential to know more about the profile of your surgeon and his or her team. This is critical as surgery is a collective medical treatment. Therefore, you must cross-check the experience, qualifications, and expertise of the surgeon and his or her team. It is equally critical to find out the level of courtesy and professionalism of the medical facility or hospital they are attached to since you’ll be engaging with the support staff regularly. Making or rescheduling appointments, and many of your interactions will be with these unsung heroes of the medical profession.
- Your Investment
While choosing the right doctor for your medical condition, it is vital to clearly understand the treatment costs. If you are looking for cost-effective yet the best treatment, you may consider India as your medical destination. Undoubtedly, most people still prefer to treat their health condition closer to their home, but they may be subjected to a long waiting list or costly medical procedures that would burn their pockets.
Interestingly, India, which is the home to some of the finest surgeons and nurses, has very patient friendly medical tourism facilities and offers cost-effective healthcare services. In other words, you can access a complicated medical procedure at a state-of-the-art Indian hospital and receive world-class pre- and post-operative care at a fraction of the cost. It is worth noting that you can avail of treatment procedures in India at almost 30-70 percent of what is charged in developed countries like the United States, Germany, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
While many countries have elaborated processes for granting a visa, the Indian government is continuously working to make the medical visa process more efficient, quick and streamlined for medical tourists. If this is not all, the country offers standardized and world-class medical services through the latest technologies in medical care.
According to Patients Without Borders, patients can save as much as 40-65 percent in Taiwan, Mexico, and Turkey while saving as much as 65-90 percent in India. The fact that India has some of the finest surgeons, nurses, and support staff who undergo high-quality medical training means they are at par or even ahead of their counterparts from other countries. These are just some of the reasons why people from all parts of the world visit India to receive high-end cardiac surgeries, trauma-related orthopedic surgery, spine surgery, transplants, bariatric surgery, cancer treatments, neurosurgery, pediatric cardiac surgery, and IVF and the count is growing with every passing day.
Takeaway
Before you choose the doctor for your health condition, you must perform comprehensive research to make an informed decision. You must also research the medical procedure, alternative therapies, the success rate and reputation of the doctor and the hospital, and the recovery period.
If you are looking for the best treatment at the lowest pricing without compromising the quality of care, India may be an excellent choice for you.
Traveling to a different country for a medical procedure may require a count of documentation that includes permits, medical reports, and certificates. You may be asked to submit a fit-to-fly certificate (apart from passport, doctor’s certificate, medical invitation letter, medical information, and the visa application form) to certify that your health condition is stable enough to fly from your resident country to a medical tourism destination like India. During the immigration process, you may be asked to offer the address of the place where you and your attendant will be staying in India.
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