Misc.kids FAQ-Potential Pediatrician Questions

Archive-name: misc-kids/pediatrician-questions
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-Modified: March 5, 1993

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Misc.kids Frequently Asked Questions
Questions to Ask When Selecting a Pediatrician

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Collection maintained by: Lisa Chirlian )
Last updated: March 5, 1993

To contribute to this collection, please send e-mail to the address
given above, and ask me to add your comments to the FAQ file on
Questions to Ask When Selecting a Pediatrician. Please try to be
as concise as possible, as these FAQ files tend to be quite long as
it is. And, unless otherwise requested, your name and e-mail address
will remain in the file, so that interested readers may follow-up
directly for more information/discussion.

For a list of other FAQ topic tune in to misc.kids or misc.kids.info.
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--------- QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN SELECTING A PEDIATRICIAN ---------


This list of questions is by no means comprehensive or all-inclusive.
It's just a starting point.


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1. Is the doctor late for the interview/meeting?

2. Do appointments consistently run late? (Ask parents in the waiting
room.)

3. Does she/he volunteer information or wait for questions?

4. How many doctors are there in the practice?

5. How long do they plan to continue at the current location?

6. Are there any plans to add (or remove) doctors from the practice?

7. What are the office hours? Are there evening/weekend hours for
sick kids?

8. How do they handle out-of-hours coverage?

9. Do they have a phone hour, when you can call with questions and
speak with the doctor?

10. How do they feel about taking phone calls from concerned parents
outside the "phone hour"?

11. What is the doctor(s) hospital affiliation? Where would a child
go in an emergency?

12. What are the doctor's views on breastfeeding and circumcision?
Do they match your views?

13. Does the doctor involve both parents equally? (as opposed to just
speaking to the father(mother) as if the mother(father) wasn't
there (assuming he/she is present)).

14. Does the doctor expect parents to be knowledgeable consumers or
just accept anything she/he says?

15. What is the doctor's attitude toward both parents working (if
they do)?

16. What is her/his view on treatment of sick kids? Does she/he take an
aggressive approach or does she/he "let nature take its course" before
actively treating the child?

17. What are their standard procedures for healthy child checkups?
Do they do a series of tests on the child's developmental status
or just rely on what the parents say?

18. How much time do they schedule for a well-baby checkup? (should
be at least half an hour to allow time to answer parents'
questions)

19. How does the office work?
- Do you like the nurses and staff?
- Are there enough staff members?
- Are there separate hours for sick kids and healthy kids?
- Will the office take care of insurance billing?
- What are their payment options?
- Will they accept your insurance company's R&C as payment
in full?

20. What's the waiting room like?
- Are the sick and healthy kids kept apart?
- Is it large and spacious -or- tiny and cramped?
- Are there many easy-to-clean toys? Are they clean?

21. Will the doctor be present at the birth?

22. How soon after birth will she/he see the baby?

--- end of FAQ ---






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Lisa Chirlian
Department of Chemistry, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
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Lisa Chirlian
Department of Chemistry, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
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