Doctor Trouble?

resources to rely on

A Look Behind

The Mask

How good is your doctor? How do you go about finding a specialist, especially when the medical need is rather urgent and time is short? If you're like most Americans you rely on the advice of family, friends, neighbors and, occasionally, total strangers. But, is that really the bedrock upon which you want to base your future medical care?

Probably not.

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization, has added an additional arrow to the quiver of physician selection tools. A recently completed study sheds light on the availability of public information regarding physician disciplinary actions. The primary responsibility for physician discipline rests with state medical boards. Public Citizen assessed both the medical boards and, for the first time, included information garnered from outside sources - hospitals, insurance company malpractice payouts and criminal conviction records.

The results? If you live in North Dakota you may want to visit your cousin in New Jersey when you need medical care. New Jersey ranks first in terms of providing information on physician discipline and malpractice issues. North Dakota, to its credit, did receive points for providing physician names and addresses - now, if they'll throw in the telephone numbers, they'll be well on their way to having their own white pages...

To learn more, see the Public Citizen Summary.

To see where your state ranks, see the Public Citizen Survey.