Find an Orthopedist

How to Choose an Orthopedist

If you have suffered an injury to your musculoskeletal system or suffer pain in your bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles or nerves, your best choice for care may be an orthopedic doctor.

Orthopedists diagnose, treat, provide rehabilitation recommendations and help prevent problems that emanate from any of the aforesaid body structures. They care for patients of any age, including children born with musculoskeletal deformities and even older people with arthritis.

Many orthopedists specialize in certain aspects of the body. It is not unusual to find specialists in hands, feet and ankles, the spine, hip or knee. They may also specialize in areas, such as sports medicine, or in pediatric orthopedics, working only with children.

An Orthopedic Doctor's Training and Credentials

An orthopedist begins his or her training with four years of medical school. There are two types of medical schools: one leads to a Medical Doctor (MD) and the other leads to an Osteopathic Doctor (DO). Both paths require a similar amount of education but focus differently; a MD practices allopathic medicine, considered to be conventional medicine in the United States, and looks at the body as a series of separately functioning systems. A DO learns more about the human musculoskeletal system and approaches the body as a whole system. In actual practice, the medical education received by MDs and DOs today is quite similar.

The next step is a minimum of five years as a resident.

Once the residency is completed, an orthopedist may continue with an extra year of more specialized training in a fellowship program.

Once a physician has completed these aspects of education, she may apply to be a certified member of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery or the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics. Board membership requires frequent recertification, and, to accomplish that, the physician must complete annual coursework requirements and take a recertification test.

How to Choose the Right Orthopedist

To find the right fit between you and your orthopedic doctor, you'll want to identify possibilities, research credentials and then assess the doctor's capabilities for partnering with you.

Make a List of Possibilities

• Find other patients who are satisfied with their orthopedist. Ask them for names of the doctors they work with.
• Do a search on UCompareHealthCare.com for the names of physicians in your area.
• Check with your insurance company for a list of orthopedists who work with your insurance.

Compare these lists to find names in common with your needs. You'll want to spend time learning more about these orthopedists, researching their credentials and capabilities.

Research an Orthopedic Doctor's Credentials

Using the list of names you have collected, look for the following information on UCompareHealthCare.com:

• A MD or DO degree from an accredited medical school and residency program.
• Completion of additional training in orthopedics.
• Board certification from the board that makes sense for your needs. This may be the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics or a subspecialty board. A master list of medical boards can be found through the American Board of Medical Specialties. The master list of osteopathic boards is located at the American Osteopathic Association.
• Licensure from the state in which you will seek care. The Federation of State Medical Boards provides a master list of licensing bodies.
• A review of possible disciplinary actions. This information can be difficult to find, but the most obvious will be listed here on the UCompareHealthCare.com website. Further information can sometimes be found by inputting the doctor's name and location in to a search engine.

Assess an Orthopedist's Capabilities

Once you have vetted your list based on the criteria above, you'll want to ask the following questions to determine which doctors are worth meeting:

• Is this doctor on the list of providers who work with my insurance?
• Does this doctor have admitting privileges at my choice of hospitals?
• Is this doctor's location convenient for me? What are the office hours? Is the office nearby, located on a bus route or easy to access, if I use a wheelchair?
• What happens if I call this doctor in an emergency? How quickly will I get a return call?
• If the doctor is not available, is there someone else who can help me when I make a phone call or need an appointment?

If you are satisfied with the answers, you'll need to make an appointment, where you'll also want to consider these questions:

• Does the doctor see you within a fair amount of time from your appointment time?
• Does the doctor listen to your questions and not interrupt you?
• Is the doctor respectful?
• Does the doctor explain the meaning of difficult terms and otherwise communicate effectively with you?
• Does the doctor spend enough time with you?
• Are you comfortable with this doctor?

Finding the right orthopedist may seem like a long, involved process, however, knowing that this doctor may partner with you for the rest of your lifetime makes it worth your time and effort.

Trisha Torrey
Guide to Patient Empowerment, About.com
Learn more about finding the right Orthopedist for you at About.com.