Choosing Your Doctor

1. How long has the doctor been practicing medicine (treating patients)?

2. Is the doctor with a group practice, a health maintenance organization (HMO), or in a solo or individual practice?

3. What special training has the doctor had in treating the type of cancer you have?

4. Does the doctor have a medical specialty (for example, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, general surgeon, etc.)? If so, what is it?

5. What is board certification?

   A board-certified physician has passed difficult exams in one or more specialties. A physician who passes the exams of a given specialty is called a “diplomate” of that board and is said to be “board certified.” Sometimes there are good reasons why a skilled doctor hasn’t taken the time to become board certified. Yet, if two doctors appear “equal” in other respects, board certification shows that the doctor is viewed by his or her peers as being highly skilled in that area of medicine.

   • Medical oncologists can become board certified in medical oncology (a subspecialty of internal medicine).
   • Radiation oncologists can become board certified in the field of therapeutic radiology.
   • Surgeons can become certified by the American Board of Surgery in a number of subspecialties. There is no special board certification program for surgical oncology.

   To find out about a doctor’s education, training, certification, and years in practice, you have several options:

   • Ask the doctor directly
   • Call the doctor’s office
   • Call your local medical society or osteopathic medical association
   • Call your state board of medical examiners
   • Look in the Directory of Medical Specialists, which you can find in public libraries. A quick way to find out if a doctor is board certified is to call (866) ASK-ABMS or (866) 275-2267 during the normal workweek or look on the Internet at www.abms.org . You will need to know the doctor’s full name and city. This is a free service of the American Board of Medical Specialties.

6. If the doctor is in a group practice, you may want to ask these questions about the other doctors in the practice, since you may be seeing them from time to time.

7. What hospital(s) does the doctor use?  You may hear this called “having hospital privileges,” which means that the doctor can admit patients to that hospital and provide care to them.

8. Which hospital does the doctor prefer? Why?

9. Does the doctor participate in clinical trials (tests) of potential new cancer treatments, or does someone in the group practice do so? Many clinical trials are supervised by the National Cancer Institute, which urges patients to ask about this treatment option. For more on clinical trials, see page x.

10. During the past twelve months, how many patients has the doctor treated with cancers like to yours? This question is important because usually it’s better for you to be treated by a doctor who has a great deal of experience in treating your cancer type. Of course, you should consider how common your cancer is. For some rare cancers, it isn’t likely that many doctors have treated more than a few cases during the past year.

11. When is the doctor normally in his or her office? List days and also hours of the day.

12. How can you reach the doctor during evenings or on weekends?

13. Will the doctor answer e-mail?

14. Does the doctor mind if you record office visits to help you better understand explanations and instructions? Sometimes it’s helpful to record key discussions with your doctor so you can be certain you understand and remember what was said and follow instructions.

15. How will this doctor plan to communicate with your other doctors about your medical care and how you want it done? For example, if you have a close relationship with your family doctor, you may want your cancer doctor to keep him or her up to date on your treatment.

16. How will this doctor plan to communicate with loved ones involved in your care?

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