Frequently Asked Questions

When should a patient shop for a new doctor?

There is no set rule on when a patient should ditch a doctor he or she is seeing and look for someone new. But if a doctor responds negatively when a patient asks questions, it may be time to leave, according to Dr. Jerome Groopman, author of "How Doctors Think.” One of his readers contacted him with a story he said was a perfect example of a doctor that should be fired. "She was seeing an orthopedic surgeon for back pain, and when she asked a question, his response was, 'Since when did you get an M.D.? That kind of response is just about a deal breaker." (Cohen, Elizabeth. Know When It's Time to Fire Your Doctor. CNN Health. August 16, 2007.)

A patient should be very cautious when considering whether or not to dump a doctor, according to Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., the authors of "You: The Smart Patient." Their advice is not to shoot the messenger if you don't like the news you're getting. "[S]ome patients hold a bad diagnosis against their doctor," they write. "They then shop for a second opinion – not to increase the accuracy of their diagnosis but simply to hear the news that they want to hear from a doctor (or alternative-medicine practitioner) who will willingly contradict their first physician. And guess what? If they ask enough doctors and practitioners, they'll find someone who will tell them exactly what they want to hear, whether it's true or ethical or dangerous or not." (Roizen, Michael. You: The Smart Patient. Simon & Schuster, 2006. 235-236.) Like many other experts, Roizen and Oz recommend that you make sure the new doctor you consult with is board certified. You can check the board certification of a doctor by looking him or her up in Vimo's free online physician database.

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