Health care help

Grundlestiltskin

So I moved to Boston in August of 2006. I haven't been to a doctor or a dentist the entire time I've been here; I just got health and dental benefits through my job in December, and getting around to this has been kind of on my to do list for a while.

So...I have no idea how I should look for a PCP or a dentist. Cigna's website is pretty useless. Do I want somebody in "Family Practice?" "Internal Medicine?" what?

How do I know if a doctor isn't completely worthless? I've never had to find my own doctors before.

Troy

You are gonna want a family practice doctor for you primary care. You should have a number on the back of your insurance card, this number has someone you can talk to who will let you know what clinics are available too.

In terms of finding a good doctor it really is kind of a toss up, there are all sorts of websites that say they list the best doctors, but those are really just a sham. You can always pick a doctor by talking to the nurses at the clinic (call the triage line and ask what doctor they think will work best for you). Then instead of scheduling a physical you can make a establishing care visit, which is cheaper then a physical, if you don't like the doctor you are just out of a co-pay, and schedule with someone else.

Rubick

When you get to CIGNA's website (I'd check out www.mycigna.com), log in, then click on the link under "Provider Search." For the PCP, you're looking for a Physician. Dental is dentist, obviously. Then you can select "By Practice," and then select either General or Family Practice, unless you're looking for a specialist.

The only thing the insurance website can give you is a listing of doctor's that are in-network. They can't really tell you which one is better than the other. You can ask co-workers who they use and recommend, as they'll be likely to have someone in-network you can use. I got my allergist from my brother, my dentist, I just picked one that was close out of my in-net providers, and it's worked well for me. Also, if there's an on-line forum for your local area, you can use that to ask for recommendations as well (there's one for Frisco TX that I've seen good recommendations come from).

Djeet

ask around at your job. word of mouth has been the only way I've found good care providers.

AtomBomb

Also, if you get a good recommendation but the booklet or website or whatever says that the doc isn't taking new patients give them a try anyway. Call the office and tell them that so and so recommended that you use them and they might take you on. That's how I got my awesome dentist.

Feral

General Practice, Family Practice, Primary Care, and Internal Medicine are (for most intents and purposes) different names for the same thing. Your Primary Care Physician can be certified in any one of those titles.

BTW, I actually found my physician through Yelp. I found the top-reviewed physicians and then checked against my insurance company list to find the ones that were covered. It worked for me, my doctor is awesome.

Richard_Dastardly

Also, if your doctor's office has a lab or an xray department, make sure your insurance covers those services at that particular place. Just because you can see the doctor there doesn't mean you can get your blood drawn there as well. Same with the dentist.

Grundlestiltskin

Richard_Dastardly wrote: »

Also, if your doctor's office has a lab or an xray department, make sure your insurance covers those services at that particular place. Just because you can see the doctor there doesn't mean you can get your blood drawn there as well. Same with the dentist.

Why would a dentist be taking blood? o_O

Richard_Dastardly

Grundlestiltskin wrote: »

Richard_Dastardly wrote: »

Also, if your doctor's office has a lab or an xray department, make sure your insurance covers those services at that particular place. Just because you can see the doctor there doesn't mean you can get your blood drawn there as well. Same with the dentist.

Why would a dentist be taking blood? o_O

Xrays!

Grundlestiltskin

Richard_Dastardly wrote: »

Grundlestiltskin wrote: »

Richard_Dastardly wrote: »

Also, if your doctor's office has a lab or an xray department, make sure your insurance covers those services at that particular place. Just because you can see the doctor there doesn't mean you can get your blood drawn there as well. Same with the dentist.

Why would a dentist be taking blood? o_O

Xrays!

I know, I was just being a jerk.

Seriously though, thanks to everyone for the advice. I'm really skittish about new (doctors|barbers|anything), so it's probably good that I'm getting this out of the way. Worse that I haven't done it in the last 2.5 years, but what's past is past.