I know this situation happens often: someone recommends or refers you to a new physician, and you want to know what kind of person they are. You wonder, is Dr. Smith, Neurologist in Blacksburg / Christiansburg Virginia a good doctor? How long has he been practicing?
So you “Google” the doctor’s name and the first thing that pops up is a pay site that offers you a complete profile of the doctor for the low low price of $9.99.
I won’t begrudge someone the opportunity to make a few dollars, but you can do a FREE search that will also provide a great deal of useful information on any Virginia physician.
- Go to the Virginia Department of Medicine’s website and learn about your physician’s education, board certifications, practice area, and past lawsuits.
http://www.vahealthproviders.com/search.asp - Look in local court records to see if there are pending lawsuits. Now I will be the first to admit that the mere fact there is a pending lawsuit, does not mean ANYTHING. But I would be curious if there were multiple suits filed against a physician in a year or two.
http://wasdmz2.courts.state.va.us/CJISWeb/circuit.html
Find your City / County on the scroll. Click CIVIL and then type in last name.
I do think information is power and if you want to know a little bit about a physician in Virginia before you put your trust in them, it only takes a few minutes.
If they have lost their license, been sanctioned, lost hospital privileges, been sued – you can know with very little effort.
I have too often asked clients in the New River Valley and Roanoke Valley, “Why did you go to see Dr. X? Did you know that Dr. X lost his license last year for six months?” Sadly, no one told them how to investigate physicians and now they are suffering from extreme pain as a result of a physician’s negligence. Not all medical malpractice can be avoided by simply choosing your doctors carefully, but I would want to know if the person operating on my knee had done it before!