Finding a new doctor, especially a specialist whom you can trust as advisor
for your diabetes, can be a very important part of making your move a
success. Here are some hints we'd advise you to consider.
-
Talk over your upcoming move with your present endocrinologist. He/she
can help out, as mentioned below, and may personally know someone in your
new location.
- Look at the American Diabetes Association
provider
listings to find a
physician who has met the criteria
of the ADA's
Provider Recognition Program.
- Call (800) TEAMUP4, a service of the
American Association of Diabetes Educators.
They have listings of doctors who are diabetes educators, as well as of diabetes nurses and other health
professionals who can help you find an appropriate diabetes doc.
- You can borrow a copy of several Membership Directories, and see who's
spent their money to pay their dues! Usually, you can find out lots of other
information about them, also. Examples of organizations with directories
that may be available from your present endocrinologist include:
These directories fortunately have entries allowing you to figure out which
physicians are more interested in seeing patients, as compared to doing "rat
research."
- Find out which hospitals have diabetes education programs that are
"Recognized" by the
American Diabetes Association, and find out which doctors are associated
with these programs.
- Call the diabetes nurse educators at two or three hospitals (especially
those Recognized by the ADA) that are in your new neighborhood. Ask the
diabetes nurses who they'd trust.
- Call the local office of the American Diabetes Association, and ask if
they maintain a referral list (look in the Yellow Pages under Diabetes
Organizations).
- Call the Referral Service at any hospital (look in the Yellow Pages
under Physician Referral Services). Be VERY specific about the kind of
physician you want: some Referral Services will give you a generalist who
dabbles in diabetes, which may not be what you want! Be sure to call
several Referral Services, since they will ONLY give you names
of physicians who are on the staff of their hospital.
If you find that the same name recurs using several of these methods, you've
probably got a winner! But, no matter what, you'll have to try the doctor
out. So, set a "get-acquainted"
appointment to meet with the doctor. When setting up the appointment,
ask the staff to alert the physician that you'll want to
go over your diabetes treatment program and review your past records during the first visit.
Bring along your
"Traveling Medical Record"
(photocopies of your recent medical records) to review with your new doctor,
including:
- Letters from one physician to another, or to you.
- Recent lab results.
- Recent hospital Discharge Summaries, Consultations, and other typed
hospital reports.
- Anything else in your chart that your previous endocrinologist and his
staff want to hand you.
During this first visit,
be prepared to spend extra time (and to pay extra) for the chance to find out if
the new doctor is "right" for you.
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