How do I Check the History of a Doctor's Medical Practice?
Before receiving care from a doctor, you might want to check the history of that doctor's medical practice. This history can include such things as medical school attended, original licensure date, practice locations and disciplinary sanctions. Knowing these things may help you choose the right doctor for you.
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Instructions
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Visit the Web page of the medical licensing authority in the state where the doctor practices. Some states require medical boards to publish information about doctors on the Internet. The information available on the Internet varies from state to state.
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Make a public records request to the state medical board. Any member of the public can request all publicly available records about a doctor. States vary in what is considered a public record, and many will charge for producing the records. Generally, public records include basic information about the doctor's practice history and disciplinary actions.
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Request a physician profile from the Federation of State Medical Boards. All state medical boards report public information about doctors to this federation. If a doctor practices in more than one state, the physician profile you receive will have information from all the states. As of Aug. 18, 2010, each physician profile costs $9.95, but check with the federation to see if the fee has changed.
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Tips & Warnings
If the doctor has disciplinary sanctions on his record, check what the sanctions were given to him for and when. The sanctions could be for administrative reasons having nothing to do with medical care, or the sanctions could be from a long time ago.
Federal and many state laws prohibit medical boards from sharing information with the public about a doctor's drug or alcohol abuse, and mental health records.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit medicine image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
