For people with the freedom to choose who takes care of their health, I offer three questions for choosing the right healthcare provider.

Sometimes patients have limited options regarding healthcare choices due to the limits of participating providers within a managed care health insurance plan’s network. Other people with different types of health insurance have the freedom to choose out-of-network providers. Many patients today are choosing to pay out-of-pocket for cash-based healthcare providers in order to seek specialty care.

How to go about choosing the right healthcare provider

For patients who have freedom in choosing the right healthcare provider, I offer three questions that you can ask yourself to determine if you are working with the right provider:

• Do they appear to care about you?
• Are they able to explain your condition and their treatment plan in a way that you understand?
• Are you getting the results that you want from their care?

The answer to each of those questions should be “yes” in order for you to know for sure that you are choosing the right healthcare provider.

I often hear from patients that they feel like they are rushed through their medical appointments and herded through the office like cattle. That makes the patient feel that the provider does not care about them as an individual.

If that is the case, it is important to seek out care from a provider who makes you feel like they care about you and will take the time needed to truly listen.

Other patients tell me that their healthcare provider talked way over their head so they were not comfortable asking questions, and they left the visit feeling confused about their medical condition and the treatment plan.

If a provider truly understands the details of your medical condition, the provider should be able to explain it to you in a way that you understand and welcome your questions to clear up any confusion.

I have also heard from patients that they really like their provider personally but they are not getting the expected results that they anticipated from the consultation. That sounds more an acquaintance you would want to meet for coffee, not the the right healthcare provider for you.

I experienced that myself when I was seeing a chiropractor I really liked for 2-3 years but my condition was not really improving. Once I got more confidence with choosing the right healthcare provider and developed the courage to switch to another provider, I made major improvements!

So if you have the freedom in choosing the right healthcare provider, I highly recommend making sure that you can answer “yes” to all three questions.