21 August 2019
 Categories: Business, Blog

Having a good healthcare provider is essential to maintaining your health. Have you been unsure of your current healthcare provider and searching for a new one? If so, you'll find a few tips to help you make the decision and the change a little easier.

Check Your Insurance Coverage

The first thing that you have to do is check with your insurance provider to find the healthcare providers in your area covered by the policy. Some policies have two levels of deductibles – make sure that you're choosing a provider that's covered by the lower deductible. You can find a list of covered doctors on the website or an informational packet. Then, you can begin weeding through the many options listed.

Contact the Healthcare Provider

Pick up the phone and call the provider to schedule a new patient appointment. Some practices will get new patients in quickly, others will make you wait days or weeks before being seen. If you're having trouble getting scheduled for an appointment in a reasonable amount of time, contact another. If the practice is too busy to get you in quickly, it'll probably continue to be a problem scheduling.

Special Needs

Do you have any current medical conditions that you're being treated for? If so, it's probably best to talk with the doctor that you're considering to learn if he or she knows much about the condition. Even if you're being seen by a specialist for the condition, it's best to work with a provider that knows about the condition, the treatment, and what symptoms could be tied to your existing condition and not something new.

Sign a Release Form

You'll likely need to sign a release form for your current healthcare provider to release your patient files to the new practice. Doing this ahead of time can save you time and make the process a little easier to complete. Some practices may charge a fee to obtain copies of your records – contact them in advance to find out what the cost would be and if there are any ways to reduce the cost.

Find Comfort

One of the most important elements of a good healthcare provider is the ability to make a patient feel comfortable. Without comfort, the patient will not open up and really tell the doctor what's going on with them – this could result in misdiagnosis or an ineffective treatment plan.

There are many healthcare providers out there – just take your time and find the one that you feel comfortable and confident with.