Conversation

Luckily, more tools are available to help you not only find the right doctor but establish a communicative and helpful relationship.

Patients must know their rights when they show up for their doctor’s appointments, says Sherry Coccari, risk manager for Physicians Regional Medical Center campuses on Pine Ridge Road and Collier Boulevard. After three years as an ombudsman and two in her current position, Coccari offers advice on finding a good doctor, moving on from one you’re uncomfortable with or establishing a more solid relationship with the one you have.

Q: What’s the best starting point to finding a good doctor?
A: A lot of hospitals have 1-800 referral numbers and Web search engines that help people moving to new areas. Since Florida is such a transitional state, with so many people here temporarily who may not know anyone, people have to start somewhere. There are also referral bases at hospitals for physicians who have privileges there. Recommendations from friends and neighbors are a good initial sounding board, too.

Q: What are some of the indicators of good doctor-patient compatibility?
A: It’s important that physicians and patients have trust—you have to be confident in your physician. It’s a partnership based on the patient’s expectations and the physician’s style of delivering quality medicine. Patients need to know they have the right to choose, to ask questions and to receive answers they can comprehend.

Q: So if patients don’t understand their doctor or have more questions, they have the right to keep asking?
A: Absolutely. They can schedule a physician consultation just for questioning; a doctor should be willing to accept that.

Q: How can a patient tell if he or she is clicking with a doctor?
A: Patients need to be able to communicate needs and concerns to their physician. It depends on their openness and ability to connect to the other person. Some patients prefer dialogue; others prefer just facts. Neither of these is inappropriate. If a patient goes to a doctor who is the best—but there’s not that comfort level and confidence—they may feel they didn’t get the quality they expected. They are, but not in the way they hoped.

Q: What’s the guideline for determining a bad physician?
A: If a physician is not responding to your needs, you have the right to choose another physician. Patients need to understand that right. If you’ve lost confidence, or don’t have confidence in the physician’s medical judgment, that’s a clear sign you should choose another.

Q: If patients decide to switch doctors, can they take their medical records with them?
A: Yes, patients are entitled to copies of medical records. In Florida, there is a Patient’s Bill of Rights. Patients have the right to choose another physician. The biggest misconception is that they think they need approval [from their current physician], and it’s not true.

Q: What else do patients have a right to that a good doctor should provide?
A: Explanations that they can comprehend about the risks, benefits and alternatives of a procedure and treatment—as well as of not having that treatment. These are the key questions that patients should ask, and a good physician should be forth-coming about that.

Q: What documents can a patient request to find out more about a physician’s qualifications?
A: Physicians should be board certified or board eligible, approved in their specialty. They can ask for the physician’s credentials. Referrals are important. Patients can ask to speak to previous patients. With cases like a plastic surgeon, patients can ask to see photos of the results of the physician’s work.

Q: Will a good doctor be accepting of a patient who wants to seek a second opinion?
A: Physicians should be cooperative with second opinions. Anytime there is a major procedure or major diagnosis, people should get a second opinion if they are uncomfortable. And treating physicians should welcome that.

Q: Should patients get a second opinion from a doctor recommended by their current one, or go through the search all over again?
A: There are multiple ways. They can ask a treating physician. They can ask at local hospitals. They can also go to a specialty center, such as Moffitt Cancer Center for patients diagnosed with cancer.

Q: If a patient has a positive experience with a doctor, what’s the best way to honor that?
A: Write to the physician personally if he or she is in private practice, or to the hospital [if the physician is with a group].