How To Interview A Potential Doctor

Are you in the market for a new physician? Are you becoming increasingly frustrated that you are not feeling your best under the care of your doctor? Just like a hairdresser that you’ve been going to for the last 17 years, people tend to stay with their family doctor for decades. There’s a level of comfort that comes with a longstanding relationship between a patient and a doctor. It’s comforting to walk into an office that’s familiar to you, the receptionist knows you by name, the nurse may ask about your kids and your parents, and you know the office routine. However, one day you wake up and realize that you are taking more than five prescription medications, continue to have migraines, and that nagging joint pain still hasn’t gone away. Both you and your doctor have not done your jobs. Your doctor's job is to help you avoid chronic disease and pain, and support your goal of good health for as long as possible using a preventive healthcare approach. Your job is to follow a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating a diet that works for you, managing your stress, exercising, and getting deep, restorative sleep.

5 Questions to Ask a Potential Physician

1.     Do you integrate a root-cause approach into your practice?

2.     What are your thoughts on using a preventive healthcare approach combined with treating a disease?

3.     How much time do you spend with your patient during the initial visit and subsequent visits after that?

4.     Do you participate in any conferences throughout the year, and if so, which ones?

5.     Do you listen to medical podcasts, read medical journals, and receive information on the latest clinical trials within your specialty area, and if so, which ones?

6.     Which lab markers do you consider important to assessing one’s risk of chronic disease states, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease?

7.     How efficient is it to communicate with you via portal, phone, email, or telehealth?

8.     Outside of lab markers, which other tests do you recommend to take to assess overall health?

Educate yourself before asking these questions so that you have an idea of what is acceptable to you or not. Listen to top medical and health podcasts, read medical journals, and take the time to read clinical trials on a specific topic you are interested in. It takes time, patience, and work to understand how to prevent disease and adopt a preventive healthcare approach.

Or, hire a health coach to guide you down your longevity path. Start your health journey today.

This blog is not to be used as medical advice or for making any lifestyle changes to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.