How did you pick a pediatrician?

For those who didn't have a pediatrician AT ALL, how did you end up choosing a pediatrician? How did you go about the screening process? Is this (consultation) even covered by insurance?

I have about 3-4 referrals from trusting friends, but how do I choose from them? How do I approach the pediatricians in the 1st place?

TIA!

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

you call them tell them you are expecting...and then you can go in for a visit before the baby is born! We did that with our son and it cost us 75.00~ not covered by insurance...listened to the doctor ramble about nothing and b_itched how hard it is to raise a baby and how she got free similac from her drug rep when she had her son 20 plus years ago...such a waste of time and money but I did it because I want to know who was going to visit my son in the hospital...well to make along story short we only kept her for about 1 year... my son had a very high fever one night and called her for an appointment and was told by her office to bring him in the next day... well my little man was started having hillunations and rush him to the hospital the staff at the hospital was trying to reach her and she did even have an on call system...Goodbye the end of her!

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

I called my insurance company and got a list of doctors names that were covered. I then called each one. If the office staff wasn't 100% helpful I crossed the name off my list because they are who you are going to be dealing with most of time.

When I found someone I liked, I explained that I was expecting a baby and would like to come in and meet the doctor. Most of the time, I was given an appointment before office hours so I wasn't charged.

This list also helped with questions.

HTH!!


Interviewing a Pediatrician

Doctors Name: ____________________________

Address: _____________________________________________

Telephone #: _________________ Fax #: _________________

E-mail Address: _________________________

Appointment Date: _____________

Time: _______________

Office

What type of practice is it (solo/group)?

sologroup

Is the office convenient?

yesno

What are the hours?

__________________

__________________

__________________

Are they flexible in accommodating your schedule?

yesno

Is the office staff/nurses friendly, courteous and helpful?

yesno

Were you kept waiting long?

yesno

Is the office environment clean and comfortable?

yesno

Is the waiting area child-friendly?

yesno


How are the routine appointments scheduled?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


Do they schedule all apointments at the same time? (well baby vs. sick baby)?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________



Basic Questions

How long have you been in practice?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


What additional training do you have?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


If solo practitioner, who will cover for you when you're not available?

_____________________________________

Phone #
_____________________________________


If a group practice, how often will I see the other doctors?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


How available are you to answer my questions?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


When is the best time to reach you?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


How do I reach you if I need to?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

Phone #
_____________________________________


Who takes your calls after office hours?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


Which hospitals are you affiliated with?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


How do you feel about circumcision?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


What are your views about breastfeeding?

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


Would you recommend any classes, activities or literature for children/babies that might benefit me?

yesno

Which ones? ___________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________



Additional Question(s) You Might Have

Did you feel comfortable with the doctor?

yesno

Do you feel you can ask a question without feeling embarrassed?

yesno

Did they take the time to talk to you?

yesno

Did you feel like they were rushing you through the appointment?

yesno

Did they answer your questions completely?

yesno



Final Comments:

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________


Rating

(Scale from 1-10: 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest)

_____________________________________


Decision

yesno

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

I just went by word of mouth. I never screened. I trusted what I heard and went with the one that sounded the best. We LOVE our pediatrician.

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

Thanks ladies!
JRG71, I've already printed out that list and will begin calling within the week!

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

I asked my GYN to refer me and went with her referral. I'm very happy with my Ped.

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

since i did such a great job picking my OB , i decided to actually listen to my mother when it came to a pediatrician...

we recently moved to the area close to where i was born. my mother told me to look up my old pediatrician (who i assumed would be now like 100, but whatever...) and see if he was still practicing. turns out he is! well, sort of... he has limited hours and sounds like he is partially retired, however it seems like he acts like a mentor for the rest of the staff. of all the pediatricians my sister and i ever had, he was my parents favorite. i scheduled a consult (free, his office does not charge), and chatted with him a bit. i like him as well, and even though i won't be seeing him a lot, my theory is that he has surrounded himself with similar people with similar philosophies so we should be fine...

we'll see how it goes! if i don't like it there i will change...

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

We got a bunch of referrals from friends and I called each office and requested an "interview" appointment. Most of the pediatrician's we visited didn't charge for the initial visit. I remember one office had a policy of no visits before hte baby was born, and I refused to choose them for that very reason. We actually ended up going with the pediatrician who visited our lamaze class. We were really impressed with him, so we made an appointment, and have been going to him ever since. There were a few issues that we were really concerned about, so we made sure to ask all the pediatrician's on their views (i.e. raising a vegetarian baby). Make sure you bring in teh standard list shown above, and bring some questions that are unique to your family and how you plan on raising your baby. It's important to find out their stances on a number of issues - are they liberal? Willing to use new medicines? Or are they old school? For example, a LOT of babies come out having acid reflux - it's just recently discovered that a lot of collicky babies really just have bad acid reflux. Old school doctors follow the theory that they'll just grow out of it in a few months and the parents and baby will just have to suffer for a few months. Some of the younger pediatrician's experiment with medications that treat the acid reflux. It all really depends on your philosphy - just make sure that your pediatrician's philosophies align with yours...

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

as I am in the Beth Israel System, so we'll probably go with someone who is in the Ambulatory center in the beginning. (that's where all my doctors are)

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

I use the same pediatricians that I used to go to.. Woodbury Pediatrics.. they are so wonderful.

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

I asked my OB/GYN for recommendations and looked up pediatricians who accept my health insurance in my area. From there we did some research (internet/word of mouth) and visited our top choices. None of the offices charged us for the visit. We found a pediatrician who we really like, is close to home and accepts our insurance.

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

I was really choosy. During delivery, my ob/gyn asked if I had picked someone, I looked down between my legs & said "I had another month & a half to figure this out...do you have any recommendations?"

We used the neonatalogist/ped he recommended for few months but I hated the office hours, he was condescending when I asked about immunizations & the staff wasn't very nice. After getting a few recommendations, I wound up at the best pediatrician

Things that I needed to look for:
*Insurance coverage
*Flexible office hours, walk-ins
*Do they have children of their own? (I think it helps them understand parents better)
*Good rapport with my babies. (talks to them while examining them, as opposed to going about it businesslike)
*Answers my questions w/o being condescending or judgemental.
*takes the time to answer questions

Re: How did you pick a pediatrician?

I used to work for mine. I love them! I also can get in whenever I want and dont pay any co-pays!