|
How to Choose a Healthcare Professional
It's worth the effort to find the right healthcare professional for you or your child.
If you do a little interviewing up front, you increase your chances of finding a professional best suited to meet the needs of you or your child—which means you’re more likely to be satisfied with the experience. You need to feel confident in your healthcare professional. If you doubt the person, you’ll probably doubt the treatment plan. If you trust the person, you’ll be more likely to follow through on the plan. You can read a description of who might be involved in the evaluation process.
You may find it helpful to talk to other parents to find out what they like—and don’t like—about the professionals they’ve seen for their child’s ADHD. Use their thoughts to develop your own list of what is important to you. Your “Good Healthcare Professional List” might include your preferences on the answers to questions like these:
- How much experience does this person have with ADHD?
- What methods does this person use to treat ADHD?
- What insurance plans does this office accept?
- Does this person and the staff make me feel at ease?
Collect the names of two or three professionals. Call each one and request a time to ask about the items on your list, either in person or on the phone.
Even after you start seeing one professional, keep your list handy. You may later decide to change. Change can be good—you should never feel “stuck” if you decide you don’t like the professional, or don’t like something about the office arrangements.
If you do change, write down the reason for the change on your list. Try to state your reason in a positive way: “I’m looking for someone who…” You may be tempted to just make a complaint: “I’m looking for someone who does NOT…” but then it will be hard to ask about it. Start the interview process again, taking any new list item into account when finding a new healthcare professional.
|