Choosing a primary care physician is critical to your health and wellness. It can be difficult when the marketplace is full of transformations like it is today. Asking your co-workers, friends and neighbors about their doctors and healthcare choices is a start, but there are many things that the smart consumer needs to think about. Michele Kadlec, CEO of Health Plus Physicians Organization, offers some questions that will help you in this process.
- Which physicians are included as in-network within my insurance plan?
- If I choose you as a primary care physician, will you be my doctor for all of my primary care visits and hospital stays?
- Are you employed by a hospital?
- If I am admitted into the hospital, which hospitals do you use, and will you be the physician checking up on me and communicating to me and my family?
- What are your work hours and locations, and how can I receive after-hours care? Also, does my insurance cover immediate care, urgent care and/or emergency care?
- Do you draw labs and provide radiology within the office, and if not, where will I be referred to for such services? Will my insurance be accepted at that location, and how much will the services cost?
