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Medicine & Treatments
Insurance & Benefits (Includes Medicaid & SSI)
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Doctors & Health Care

Doctors	Managed Care (HMOs, Hospitals, etc.)
Medical Bills	Rules, Regulations & Complaints

Managed Care (HMOs, PPOs, etc.)
Choosing A Health Plan
Getting Top Care/Complaints

Choosing A Health Plan
There are many things to consider when choosing a health plan. Some of these include, the plan's comprehensiveness, i.e. what the plan covers, the cost of this coverage, the limits on your choice of doctors or hospitals and the complaint record of each provider.

FAQs, Tips & Advice
Profiles For Health Plans, Doctors & Hospitals
Referral Agencies

FAQs, Tips & Advice

Choosing Quality Medical Care (Tips)

The Ten Commandments for HMOs
A list of questions consumers should ask when choosing a HMOs.

How To Choose A Health Plan (Summary with lots of other links.)

Choosing An HMO (BBB)

www.healthgrades.com
Free profiles on 600,000 doctors, 5,000 hospitals, 400 health plans, 17,000 nursing homes and more. Learn about the doctor's specialties, years in practice, instances of misconduct, and ratings by their patients.

Hospitals-The Top Ones In Each State (U.S. News & World Report)
Once you've found the best Hospitals in your state for your condition, choose a plan with doctors who have privileges to work in these hospitals.

American Hospital Directory
The site will provide a detailed report on the hospital's characteristics, financial reports, costs, and specialties. This directory can be searched by hospital name, city, state, area code and zip code. Click on the icon for "free services", and to gain entry to the sections accept the liability statement.

United Way Help Line (For All 50 States, DC & Puerto Rico)
Choose your state, select your city, and look up help agencies galore!!! Their stellar search engine can lead you to any social service topic you can think of. Just type in the words "Health" and either "Managed Care" or "HMO".

Contacts On Medicaid, Children's Health & Managed Care.
For state-by-state- information on the above, select your state from their drop box and hit "GO".

Health Care Choices
For more information on doctors and hospitals, e-mail this consumer-advocate group.

Getting Top Care/Complaints
FAQs, Tips & Advice
Where To Get Help (Patient Advocates)

FAQs, Tips & Advice

10 Ways To Avoid Outrageous Hospital Overcharges
Profit-hungry hospitals are overcharging consumers an estimated
$10 billion a year. Some deliberately work to keep bills indecipherable.
Here's how to fight back.

Making Healthcare Agencies Publicly Accountable
Articles and links on how to make your healthcare agency accountable and where you to get help when they won't cooperate.

Health Care Quality-Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Fighting Insurance Companies When They Deny Your Claim
How to protect yourself, establish contacts, gather allies and write your appeals and grievance letters.

How To Avoid A Health Insurance Claim denial—And What To Do When You Can't
Tips, advice and appeals form letters.

Informal Guide To Appealing Health Insurance Claims
Advice from a regular guy who took on his HMO and won.

Where To Get Help (Advocates)

Health Care Holtine For Real Problems with Health Care (New York Attorney General)
Investigates denial of coverage, unfair medical billing or denial of treatments.

New York City Complaint Directory (Complaints Handled Not By The NY AG's Office)
A-Z Directory of where to go for help. From abandoned property to trouble with veterinarians!

Where To Report A Complaint Against Your Health Care Provider (All 50 States & DC)

Regulators Governing Health & Ins. Plans (All 50 States & DC)
For Both Managed Care Plans and Fee For Service Plans.

Keeping Your Medical Records Private
Know what protections and rights you have and what you can do if you believe they have been violated.

Rules, Regulations & Complaints (Consumer-SOS)

Patient Advocacy Links
Scroll down the page for organizations that can help you in your battle against your provider.

Find Your Local Newspaper, Magazine, Radio & TV Stations
Give them a little bad press and you're bargaining power increases tremendously. Select Texas, and then click on your county or city for the proper media to report to. (DC Not Included).

Where Else To Go For Help (Consumer-SOS)

Back To Top

Doctors
Finding & Choosing
Talking To Your Doctor
Complaints

Finding & Choosing
FAQs Tips & Advice
Finding By Specialty
Doctor Profiles & Credentials

FAQs Tips & Advice

Choosing A Doctor (General Tips)
For a checklist of what to consider, click Here

Other Helpful Links (Consumer-SOS)
Relating to help for the poor, doctor accountability and patient education.

Certified Doctor Locator Service (All 50 States & DC)
To locate a board certified physician by geographic area and specialty.

AMA Physician Select
Look up physicians by name or by state and medical specialty to find their address, educational background, gender, and
specialty.

www.bestdoctors.com
Boasts a database supposedly made up of 30,000 of America's top-rated doctors.

Find A Doctor (National)
Search by name, Zip code or metropolitan area.

Doctor Profiles & Credentials

Verifying If A Doctor's Been Disciplined (Consumer-SOS)
Check your state's medical licensing board to see if your doctor has been disciplined. This is also where you can file complaints.

Profiles For Health Plans, Doctors & Hospitals (Consumer-SOS)
Having good doctors is not enough. To have access to the latest equipment, make sure they have privileges to work in the best hospitals.

ABMS Website
Find out about your doctor's credentials. Type in "Bruce
Bagley," for instance, and you'll learn that the president of
the American Academy of Family Physicians is indeed
certified in family practice.

The American Board Of Medical Specialties
Details on who treats what and to find out whether the doctor has been disciplined. To see if your doctor has lost any malpractice suits, check the local courts.

Other Helpful Links (Consumer-SOS)
Relating to help for the poor, doctor accountability and patient education.

Talking To Your Doctor

What To Ask & Tell Your Doctor (Consumer-SOS)
Basics on preparing for your meeting, writing things down and getting feedback from your doctor.

Talking With Your Doctor
Geared for seniors or the terminally ill, the site tells you the basics on how to make the most of your visit.

What To Ask Your Doctor Before Office Surgery

Getting Top Care From Your Doctor
What to ask about your condition, treatments, tests and more.

Making The Most Of Your Medical Visit

What To Ask & Tell Your Doctor

To get the most from a short visit with your doctor, it helps to prepare for the dialogue.

Before Your Appointment.

· Write down all the questions you want to ask. Pick the three you think are most important to you.

· Bring a list of all your medications, both prescription and over-the-counter. Bring in any herbs or
supplements that you take.

If you are feeling sick or too scared, bring a friend or relative who can help take notes and ask questions for you.

At The Start Of The Visit.

· Ask your doctor how much time you have together.

· Explain what you have already done to get better.

· Mention the top three "must discuss" items on your list.

During The Visit, Ask:

· What does the doctor think happened to you, and why?

· What do you need to do now?

· What will the doctor do for you?

· Will it hurt, and, if so, for how long?

· When will you and the doctor know more about how you are doing?

Discuss A Plan.

· Ask the doctor to write down the treatment choices for your illness, and the pros and cons for each choice.

· If you don't understand what the doctor is suggesting, ask him or her to use different words that you do understand.

· Agree on a plan of action with your doctor. And then write the plan down.

· Ask who-and when-you can call with more questions.

My Medicines (What To Ask)
Tips on how to read the label, avoid problems, ask questions and keep a record.