Ask HN: How do you find the right doctor? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you find the right doctor?

I moved to the US (San Francisco) three years ago, and I wasn't familiar with the healthcare system. I have been employed, and have health insurance.

I find it extremely difficult to find the right doctor for a specific need. Right now, I am looking for a psycotherapist, and it seems that the only way to find a good one is actually to go and try several (and pay for these visits), until you find someone that "clicks" with you.

Is there a better way?

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Hi, I'm an MD with a specialty in psychiatry. I'm not in SF, but I just wanted to say that you aren't doing anything wrong. Doctors have been commoditized, and as far as insurance companies are concerned one is the same as another, like boxes in a warehouse.

Sadly, the online review sites don't (in my opinion) add much. It's unusual for any but the most disgruntled patients to bother adding a review.

Really the best way to find a good one without seeing each directly is the old stand-by: word of mouth. That said, there really is no complete substitute for the (expensive and time-consuming) approach of actually meeting with them.

One thing that might help would be to narrow down what you may be looking for, especially as psychotherapy as a field is somewhat broad - counselors, psychiatrists (MD), and psychologists (PhD) just off the top of my head - and psychiatrists are the only ones who can prescribe medication.

Aside from that, I'd have to agree with phren0logy - therapy is by its very nature a close relationship between provider and patient. It's like dating in that respect, you can have all the pictures and profile information in the world but nothing beats having an actual face to face.

If you have a PCP/Family Doc you see regularly, ask them if they have any recommendations.

I would ask any doctor you know who they would recommend. I'm not a doctor, but I've noticed there's a certain clubby quality to the medical profession, and they tend to know what doctor has a good reputation and which one doesn't (and who they would go to). I happen to be on particularly good terms with my wifes ob/gyn, who recommended an exceptional psychiatrist, and my ortho doc recommended a solid ear/nose/throat guy when I needed one. YMMV, of course.

P.S. - I probably would have tried out at least one other psych if I hadn't really clicked with this one. Good advice there.

Thanks. Makes sense - you substitute trying directly yourself with trusted referral, which seems to be a good proxy.

you can try http://zocdoc.com . It's like Yelp for doctors, we have it in NYC and it's quite good. It's the only resource I've found to find doctors in this city.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I've actually tried Zocdoc and didn't find it particularly helpful, aside from these type of doctors that can have many patients and therefore statistical evidence of them being good can emerge.

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