A lot of individuals consider their sight to be their most critical sense. Yet, every year thousands of individuals have surgery on their eyes without having done any research on their eye surgeon. Who does your cataract surgery is one of the most critical decisions you will make.
It doesn't take a great deal of time to choose your cataract surgeon if you know how. The following list of 10 Vital Things Anyone Have to Know Before Selecting a Eye Doctor will instruct you how. With this listing you can decide on an outstanding ocular surgeon in less time than many people commit to choosing their next car.
1. Don't limit your choices to only those eye surgeons in your insurance network.
Despite what your insurance company's marketing brochures may indicate, the main component in regulating who is "in-network" is who is willing to accept that insurance contract. Presently there is no well-grounded method of scoring cataract surgeons and any insurance company that suggests their network of eye doctors is the most qualified is disingenuous at best.
2. Ask those you trust
Good sources of information include your primary care physician, optometrist, and acquaintances who have had cataract surgery. Even better references include the operating room technicians and staff at your local surgery center. They are frequently in surgery with the and see which cataract surgeon has the "best hands." Nurses are frequently very helpful people and will often be willing to respond to your question. The difficulty will be making it beyond the hospital's automated phone maze and gaining access to a live OR nurse.
3. Research your eye surgeon's education
Where did your cataract surgeon get her education? You may not know which residency programs are the most respected, but it is simple enough to discover their rankings once you know where your eye surgeon trained. Two objective are U.S. News & World Report's Annual rating of
Medical Schoolsand
Eye Hospitals
Don't get too hung up on the ranking order - if your surgeon trained at a top 15 institution he received excellent training.
4. Research your physician's State Licensure
Your eye doctor must be licensed to practice medicine in her state. In addition to confirming licensure, many state license sites will also alert you to any history of disciplinary or legal action against your eye surgeon. In California you can look up this data online at http://www.medbd.ca.gov/lookup.html
5. Confirm that your Cataract Surgeon is Board Certified
Board certification is a type of "seal of approval" for all doctors. In order to receive certification a cataract surgeon must successfully pass both a written and oral exam. In addition, younger eye surgeons must recertify every decade - a process that can take up to three years to complete. You can confirm that your ophthalmologist is board certified by checking the internet site: http://www.abop.org or http://www.abms.org
6. Visit your surgeon's Medical Practice Internet Site
Assuming the above-mentioned background check is favourable you can sometimes obtain useful information from your eye doctor's site. Although many web sites do furnish educational pages, keep in mind that its fundamental role is to market the practice. You won't uncover anything unfavorable about your eye surgeon there, but it can support the constructive information you have already acquired and give you some insight into the ophthalmologist's background and medical practice philosophy.
7. Determine what others have experienced.
Are recommendations available online (doctor ranking websites or practice web site)? Are recommendations available in your ophthalmologist's waiting room for your review? Will your eye doctor furnish you the name and phone number of an individual who had surgery that you can talk to?
Keep in mind that Federal privacy regulations determine the quantity of information your cataract surgeon may be able to supply you regarding other patients who have had eye surgery. All The Same, it shouldn't be too troubling for your eye surgeon to come up with a living person who would volunteer to discuss the eye surgery experience with you.
8. Discover how many eye surgeries your eye doctor has done.
There is a reason they call it the "practice of medicine." Just like a sports professional, an eye surgeon's abilities improve with practice and experience. Every surgery differs in its "threshold" number (the number of surgeries necessary for the average surgeon to become proficient). For cataract surgery I think this number is probably around five hundred.
If you are uncomfortable asking directly then take someone with you to the appointment to inquire for you. This is a very important question. These are your eyes. You only have two. Get over your hesitancy. Just ask.
9. Meet the Catarct Surgeon.
The above research can give you an idea if your ophthalmologist is qualified to do your eye surgery. Notwithstanding, you can't be certain if this is the person you want operating on your eyes until you meet with her. In addition to validating his or her credentials, you need to be comfortable with this person.
Trust is a significant consideration that can't be sufficiently built up without encountering your cataract surgeon in-person.
10. Ultimately, get a second impression.
Most people wouldn't buy an auto without test driving it and at least one other auto. Why would you limit your choice of surgeon because "he's on my plan" before getting a sense of how comfortable you are with the selection your insurance has made for you? This is a very significant decision.
Unless you are completely comfortable with your physician, get a second impression.
The most experienced surgeons do not mind that you have or are going to get a second opinion. In fact, one quick test of your eye surgeon's comfort with his own ability is to let her know that you would like a second opinion. If the physician becomes defensive about this then you know the second opinion was a good idea, after all.
In summary, there are many things you can easily do to affirm that you have made a good decision about who will perform your eye surgery. Considering the importance of your eyes, you owe it to yourself to complete this inquiry before having cataract surgery.
Copyright 2009 David D. Richardson, M.D.
