Finding a doctor and/or choosing a good hospital, for yourself or someone you love or are a caregiver for, can be difficult when you have no idea what to look for or even where to start looking. When I found the following sites, I thought they might be a good resource for anyone trying to make informed healthcare decisions.
The first one, Hospital Compare, was developed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. It gives information using patient surveys, hospital reports, and government data. It reports on the hospital's efficiency and how they handle Medicare and other insurance. Also, if you click on the resource locator and then on doctors (or just click here) you will find Physician Compare. If you are looking for a doctor, this might be a good place to start. You search by the type of physician you are looking for and enter your zip code. It will bring up a list with contact information for all the doctors in your area. You can also narrow your search by specifying whether or not they take Medicare, and if you prefer a male or a female. Not a whole lot of information, but better than the yellow pages!
http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/
http://www.medicare.gov/find-a-doctor/provider-search.aspx
If you want a little more detailed report about a specific doctor, check out DocFinder. DocFinder contains the licensing background and disciplinary information of physicians and other health care practitioners. In addition, physician profile information from states that have passed physician profile laws are included. There are more state specific links on the right side of the page, which probably have more information, if you are unable to find what you need in the search.
http://www.docboard.org/docfinder.html
UPDATE: We found another site to look up doctors and hospitals with even more information. Check it out here.
http://www.healthgrades.com/?intcid=HN-Logo:%20profile:%20static:%20background%20check
Since thinking about doctors and hospitals can stress a person out, I suggest that you Do Nothing for 2 Minutes. Its good for you to take a break every now and then and you deserve it. But can you do it? Click here and find out!
http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
