Still Going to a Pediatrician?

When I was home on break this winter, I had a doctor’s appointment. I still go to a pediatrician and I am only able to go there through college. Since my college career is ending, I realized that this may be one of my last visits to that doctor and that I may need to find a new doctor sooner than I thought. Since many of you may be going through the same thing soon, I decided to share the preliminary steps to finding a new doctor to help make the process a little easier.

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Step 1: Get Recommendations

It is always important to talk to many different people and gather their opinions on different doctors before you choose one. Googling may help you find a doctor nearby, but their prices, availability, or ability may not be to your standards. There are some websites that give you a lot of information and reviews on doctors all in one place, but talking to a real person tends to be a lot more helpful. Friends, family, even coworkers may be able to recommend a good doctor to you. Above all though, you should talk to your pediatrician and see what doctors they recommend. The pediatricians have dealt with many of their clients graduating to a different doctor and know a lot about other practices and what their past clients have said about those practices. These resources will give you a good idea about who you should consider seeing in the future.

Step 2: Location

You may have gotten a recommendation for a perfect doctor, but it is good to consider location before you switch. After graduation, many students relocate for their careers. If you already know that you will be working a good distance away from where you grew up, you may want to look into doctors near your new location. This will prevent long commutes and needing to switch doctors again once you get a job. If you are thinking of working in Massachusetts and are not originally from there, the Center for Health and Wellness may be able to recommend some doctors in the state.

Step 3: Insurance

The final piece of the preliminary process to find a doctor is to check to make sure that that practice is covered by your insurance. Not all doctors are covered by certain types of insurance. Most insurance companies have a website where you can check if the doctor you are looking at is covered. If that practice is not covered, you may want to look at another doctor to save some money.

Step 4: Switching

The above three steps all will be of great help when trying to find a new doctor after or before graduation. I have not yet switched doctors, but I am assuming that once you find the doctor that you want to switch to, a simple call to both your old and new doctor will give you a simple explanation of how to switch. I hope this helps those looking to switch find the perfect doctor. It may seem challenging to find a new doctor, but with these steps, you should be heading in the right direction to find one.

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