How to Find a Great Pediatrician for Your Child

by Ellie Perico
in Advice for New Dads
— 3 Oct, 2012

Are pregnant and looking for a pediatrician for your baby? Are you moving and need to find a pediatrician local to your area? Are you unhappy with your child’s pediatrician and want to find a new one? Well, the internet has the answer!

There are several websites that give you a complete profile of all, if not most, pediatricians in your area. These websites actually give you a profile for all doctors in general, including family practice doctors and those that deal with specialties such as gynecologists, cardiologists, podiatrists, etc. You can use the following websites to find a doctor for anyone in your family and see what other patients’ opinions of him or her are.The websites I found most useful were www.ratemds.com, www.vitals.com,www.drscore.comand www.findaDoc.com.

www.RateMds.com
Information on the website:
Not all of the information below is always completely fill out but the name, specialty and phone number is usually there
–City
–Gender
–Specialty
–Webpage
–Hospital
–Accepting New Patients or Not
–Phone number
–Patient Ratings (most descriptive & easy to find out of all the sites)
Rated on Punctuality, Helpfulness, Knowledge & Overall Quality

This is the most user friendly of the websites and gives you the most descriptive patient information. It doesn’t offer as much information on the doctor’s education, hospital background or certification though. If you’re looking for honest and thorough patient opinions, however, this is the website you’d want to go to. Most of the time, the patient rating is what’s most important in finding a doctor. They may not work at the most prestigious hospitals or have the degree from the most prestigious university but they treat their patients well and give them the time and attention they deserve.

www.Vitals.com
Information on the website
–Address & phone number
–Gender
–Specialty
–Hospital
–Education
–Board Certification
–Average patient wait time
–Directions to the office
–Patient Ratings (most descriptive & easy to find out of all the sites)
Rated on Ease of Appointment, Promptness, Courteous staff, Accurate Diagnosis, Bedside Manner, Spends Time with Me & Follow Up

This website is one of the most detailed of the four, however, it doesn’t always have as many patient ratings or as many patient comments based on the ratings. If you’re looking for a good overall profile of the doctor, this is the website you’d probably like to visit.

www.DrScore.com
Information on the website
–Address & phone number
–Practice
–Gender
–Specialty
–Hospital
–Education
–Residency
–Patient Ratings (few if any, seems like a new website)

This website has basic information on the doctor. The doctors I looked up had yet to be rated so I could not find any patient opinions on the doctor. If you want simple information (i.e., address, phone number, hospital information, etc), this is the easiest website to find it at.

www.FindaDoc.com
Information on the website
–Address & phone number
–Specialty
–Hospital
–Residency
–Education
–Doctor Endorsements
–Years of Experience
–Languages Spoken
–Board Certification
–Accepting New Patients
–Patient Ratings
Rated Office Staff, Office Setting, Wait Time, Medical Knowledge, Bedside Manner, Patient Confidence and Patient Satisfaction.

This is the only website that you have to Register at and log in prior to seeing information on the doctor. You have to provide your email address, name, address and year of birth. Having said that, it is one of the most thorough websites available with the most amount of information. It may be worth it to register. It also has an option to search for a dentist.

So, if you are looking for a new doctor for you, your child or another family member or friend, do your research and visit the websites above. You should also do some research on your current doctors! It’s always good to know more about the people you trust to care for your family. You may be surprised by what you find…. I certainly was!

Image Credit: weallfallapart

About Ellie Perico

Former pre-k, 4th/5th grade & high school teacher with a M.A. in Multicultural Education! Also a proud mom! In my free time I enjoy running, swimming and hiking. Parenting, education, fitness, nutrition & social media marketing are my passions!