Medihub - Medical Information - Health Tools - Informed Patient- Finding a specialist

Finding a specialist

Introduction

When you or your family physician suspect that you may have an advanced medical condition that will require specialist care, the search for an appropriate specialist may bring about some anxiety. With the enormous advances in medicine, medical specialities have evolved to become highly specialised, even within the main specialty to cover different aspects of more complex therapeutics and diagnostics.

Depending on your condition, you may need to look for doctors who are general or sub-specialists. The choice and quality of hospitals or doctors differ greatly due to differences in training, experience and clinical skills.

It is imperative that you understand the various options and choose your caregiver carefully as they will have an impact on your health.

Searching for a specialist

1. Referral by family doctor

One of the most reliable method is to obtain a referral by a trusted family physician who has been treating you for a period of time and who understands your current state of health.

2. Recommendation by friends

Never underestimate ‘word-of-mouth’ reputations. Only satisfied patients will recommend their doctors. Selecting a cardiologist with positive feedbacks will also allow you to ask first hand questions about how he treats patients, whether he provides adequate explanation, fees and continued care.

3. Directories

There are several online and print directories that list all the doctors’ specialties, qualifications, locations and contact information. One of the most comprehensive and reliable listing can be found on the Ministry of Health or the Singapore Medical Council’s website. http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/hcservices.aspx?id=7820

Selection indicators

There is no fixed checklist when it comes to selecting any care giver or hospital. However, it may be a good idea to keep a couple of things in mind when you are doing research on a doctor’s suitability. A few key selection indicators are:

Credentials

Decoding the abbreviations following a doctor’s name can be a daunting task. Essentially, all specialists will possess a basic medical degree (often reflected as MBBS locally) and a FAMS (area of specialty) certification which represent their completion of the required training in terms of skills and experience by the specialty board.

Sub-specialty

Increasingly, specialists are going into different areas within the specialty. This is known as a sub-specialty. Sub-specialties can belong to therapeutic or some technical diagnostic expertise.

Unless you have a pretty good understanding of your condition and what kind of expertise you are looking, you could consult a generalist before seeking out a doctor according to his sub-specialty. Most specialists are trained to provide a broad level of expertise within their fields.

Experience

All specialists are required to complete a rigorous training with a substantial period of time to gather the necessary experience in their respective specialties and to obtain a specialist licence. In essence, the more experience the doctor has, the better the result. If you intend to undego an invasive procedure or other surgeries, it may be a good idea to learn of the number of cases the doctor has performed and how long he had been doing it.

Clinical Outcomes

Clinical outcomes refer to the understanding of the effect or the end result that a particular health care practice, intervention or procedure has on a patient. Did the intervention improve the patient's quality of life? Did the patient experience any complications as a result of the intervention?

It is perfectly acceptable to ask a doctor or hospital about their outcomes as this will have a direct impact on your treatment.

Involvement in research and education

Most of the practising specialists in Singapore would have started their roots serving in a public hospital and be involved in some form of research and education.

Teaching hospitals such as the National University Hospital has both research and training facilities with a wide stable of scientists, clinicians and other health professionals to stay at the forefront of medical science.