How Do I Check Up on My Doctor? (Part 2)

By: Angela

Last week’s post explained how to look for state licensing actions against a provider, but many people want to find out if their doctor has been sued before, which is an entirely different question.

Unfortunately, there is no simple way to research a doctor’s malpractice rap sheet. You may have heard of a “public” national database. Yes, such a thing exists, called the National Practitioners Data Bank. Most settlements and verdicts must be reported and entered into this database. However, it is not “public” in the sense that just anyone (aka, the public) can research a particular provider; only hospitals, state licensing boards, and other eligible entities can retrieve results for a particular individual.

One way to dig for information in our state is to check the Washington Courts website. To get meaningful information from this search, though, you need some degree of legal knowledge. It is hard for someone without legal saavy to sort out the parking tickets from medical malpractice cases, although it is possible if you spend some time with the system. You can find this search at  www.courts.wa.gov. From the choices on the left side of the page, choose “Search Case Records.” Under “Search for a Person,” click “Name Search,” and you are on your way. That is the simplest way to get started, but it takes a lot more than a quick search to sort out whether the person has been sued for malpractice and what the results may have been. Remember, good doctors get involved in litigation sometimes, and bad doctors can fly under the radar for a long time. And, of course, it only gives you information about cases in Washington State courts, not other states or federal court.

What about Yelp, Avvo, Angie’s List, and other consumer feedback sites? It never hurts to check. You cannot necessarily trust the information you retrieve, good or bad, but you might see red flags that help you know whether other patients have had concerns with this provider. Keep in mind that plaintiffs in legal cases are often instructed not to post anything about their case, and many settlement agreements expressly prohibit them from doing so. Some patients have even faced charges of libel for writing negative reviews about doctors. In other words, there are many reasons that searching for reviews on a doctor is different than searching for reviews on a restaurant or a plumber.

Thus, even in a world of instant information and feedback, we are still left in the dark (or at least the shadows) when it comes to researching doctors. But there are some simple things you can do, beyond digital sleuthing.

1. Ask around. If you know people in the medical field, they can be a particularly good source of information about reputation.
2. Consider experience. If you need a bypass surgery, you probably want a surgeon who has done hundreds of bypass surgeries. Ask how many the doctor has performed, and what the outcomes have been.
3. Look for doctors who are board certified in their area of practice.
4. Advocate for yourself. If you are not comfortable with the doctor assigned to your care, ask for a second opinion. You should not have to feel apologetic for doing so. If you are faced with needing an elective procedure, take the time to look around to see who the experts are in the area.  You do not have to stay with a doctor you do not feel good about.