Questions to Ask When Looking for a Doctor

When it comes to choosing a physician for your baby there a number of questions you can ask about the physician and the practice. To make this process easy, The Children's Hospital compiled this list of questions you should ask before, during and after interviewing potential doctors.

It is important to ask if your child’s doctor refers to and recommends The Children's Hospital for health issues beyond their own expertise. When your doctor recommends The Children’s Hospital, you can be sure that if your child ever needs to be hospitalized - or requires any other specialized care – you’ll be referred to an environment specifically designed for children. The Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s top pediatric hospitals. This means access to more than 1,000 trained and highly experienced specialists that are 100% dedicated to caring for kids.

Need help finding a doctor?

Things to ask on the phone, before the interview:

• Do you accept my insurance? (It’s always good to double-check!)

• Which hospital(s) are you affiliated with?

Questions to ask during your interview:

• What is your background: how long have you been a doctor, and how long have you been associated with this practice?

• Are you board certified? In what specialty?

• What pediatric training do you have?

• Do you treat parents as a partner and let them be very involved in all of the decision-making?

• Do you practice only conservative medicine? What is your philosophy on holistic medicine?

• If your family has a health issue, what has the doctor’s experience been with that issue?

• How often do you recommend well child visits? Do you see my child, or does another doctor in the group or a nurse practitioner see my child?

• Will your office send immunization reminders for my child?

• What are your office hours? Do you offer early, late or weekend appointments?

• Will I be able to get a same-day appointment if my child is sick? Who sees my child, you or another doctor/nurse practitioner?

• Do you offer telephone triage and advice by pediatric nurses? What hours? Is there a "best" time to call?

• If I leave a message, how long will it typically take to get a return call?

• Do you accept and answer questions by e-mail?

• How are emergency calls handled by your office?

• How are calls handled after your office has closed?

• What tests are handled here, and which have to be performed somewhere else? Where?

• Do you have resources to help with billing questions or insurance claims?

After your visit, ask yourself:

• Did the doctor volunteer information or wait for questions?

• Did the doctor listen to your questions?

• Did the doctor genuinely like children?

• Was the office child-friendly? Child-sized furniture? Clean toys?

• Was the staff patient and helpful?

• Did you feel at ease with this doctor?

• Was the doctor well-informed about preventative health measures?

• Did the doctor explain medical procedures?

• Did the appointment begin on time?

• Did you feel rushed?

• Was there ample parking?

• Did you and the doctor have similar views such as breastfeeding, alternative medicine, single parents, co-sleeping, etc.?