3 Reliable Websites You'll Want To Use To Find a Great Doctor

American Medical Association's (AMA) DoctorFinder was created to help people find "a perfect match" for their medical needs. Through DoctorFinder, consumers have access to "basic professional information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States.” Physician listings are based on data maintained in the AMA Physician Masterfile, the nation's most comprehensive and unbiased physician database.

Tips:

• The best way to search for a physician by name is to search by Last Name only and the State.
• If you’re not sure of a name or city's spelling, a "sounds-like" search is available. This option is beneath the name and address fields on the "Search by Physician Name" page.
• The best way to search for a physician in DoctorFinder by specialty is to select a Specialty and State. If your search result is too big, you will be asked to modify the search by adding City and/or Zip Code.

Board Certified Specialists

CertificationMatters.org lets you search to find a board-certified doctor or find out if a doctor is certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties. This is a free service, and there's no limit on the number of searches that you can do, but you do have to register first. You can search for a doctor’s name or search by location and specialty.

Doctors That Accept Medicare

Physician Compare is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website that helps you find doctors or other health care professionals enrolled in Medicare to meet your needs. You can also compare group practices. The database only physicians and other health care professionals who are currently enrolled in Medicare. It can take 3-6 months for new physicians, other health care professionals, and group practices to be added to Physician Compare after they enroll in Medicare. Visit Physician Compare regularly to find new and updated listings. Also, know that information can change. CMS recommends that you always contact the health care professional to check their address and find out if they accept Medicare assignment and accept new Medicare patients. This video tutorial shows you exactly how to use the Physician Compare website and provides more details about the site's information.

Getting the Most from Physician Compare

 3 Easy Search Steps for Finding a Doctor With Physician Compare

1. Enter a location. You can use a zip code, exact address, city, state, or landmark.
2. Type what you are looking for into the main search box: specialty, last name of a physician or other health care professional, body part, organ system (e.g., digestive system), or medical condition.
3. Select "Search" to see your results.

Modifying Your Search

You can modify your search results using the panel on the right of the page.

When searching for physicians and other health care professionals, you can modify:

• Location
• Last name
• Medicare assignment
• Specialty
• Gender
• Hospital affiliation

Select the "Update Results" button to get your modified results. Select a name, and you’ll be taken to a profile page with more information.

Physician Compare Profiles

Once you are on the profile page, you may see any of the following information:

• Primary and secondary specialties
• American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) board certification
• Medicare assignment
• Whether the individual or group participates in certain quality programs
• Gender
• Education and residency information
• Groups that individuals work with (individual profile) or individuals who work with the group (group profile)
• Hospital affiliation

You can find addresses, phone numbers, and a map under the “Locations” tab.

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