Home / Orthopedic Blog / Beyond the Resume: 3 Things to Consider When Choosing a New Doctor
Beyond the Resume: 3 Things to Consider When Choosing a New Doctor
By: Our Medical Team | July 2, 2025
Choosing a doctor is one of the most consequential decisions we can make. There are many factors to consider, from education, specialization and experience to insurance and even personal chemistry. But anyone who has gone on an insurance provider’s website and scrolled through the list of in-network doctors can attest to the feeling of being overwhelmed by choice yet underwhelmed by information. How does a layperson adequately judge one medical program vs. another, whether domestic or international? How do you extrapolate “graduated in 20XX” into meaningful information about capabilities? How do you confidently assess care when the average appointment lasts about 13 minutes? It can feel like throwing a dart at a list in the dark. You do what research you can and hope for the best.
Primary care providers are often the first point of contact for people seeking medical care, and it’s no wonder that choosing the right one seems like, at most, an educated guess. There are about 280,000 active primary care physicians in the U.S., along with approximately 300,000 nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants delivering primary care in family, internal, pediatric and geriatric medicine.
To help you navigate the field in primary care as well as specialty medicine, here are three things to consider beyond foundational specialization, location, insurance and education information:
Insurance vs. concierge care
Not surprisingly, as insurance companies have taken a heavier hand in directing care and the amount of time spent on administrative red tape has escalated, there has been a quiet rebellion by doctors who took an oath to act in the best interest of their patients. Concierge care is growing in popularity. These membership-based practices charge an annual or monthly fee for personalized care and direct access to a medical provider. This enables doctors to provide more focused care to fewer patients, which translates into a more nuanced understanding of medical history, lifestyle, preferences and needs. Concierge doctors typically see just six to eight patients a day. Shorter waits and longer visits are the norm.
Keep in mind that “concierge” is not a type of doctor, it’s a service model. Ask what the membership fee covers and make your decision accordingly. Most include office visits, consultations and diagnostics. Many provide access to cutting-edge treatments and proven wellness therapies not covered by insurance, enabling a more tailored approach to prevention and care. All give physicians the discretion to extend or modify treatment beyond what an insurance company will approve for a particular condition. Also, understand that it’s rarely an either/or equation. Insurance is still recommended for emergencies, surgeries, hospitalizations and services outside the concierge doctor’s specialty.
Weighing recommendations
Patients, friends and family are generally forthcoming with their opinion of the care they’ve received. Medical professionals will often recommend peers they respect. While an honest assessment from a trusted source is often the top consideration in your search for the right care provider, these online resources can be of service as well:
- The American Board of Medical Specialties enables you to confirm that a provider is board certified in a particular area of medicine. Board certification affirms that doctors are experts in their specialty. The site also provides a description of each area of specialization, should you be curious.
- DocInfo is a comprehensive database of medical licensure and disciplinary actions, providing professional background information on more than one million doctors in the U.S. Data is gleaned from state medical boards, certification bodies, licensing entities, and more.
- Those doing deeper research may consider PubMed, which provides details on a doctor’s published work and, by extension, their professional interests and expertise. The database comprises more the 38 million citations for biomedical literature from numerous sources.
Approach to well-being and treatment
Doctors have many motivations for entering the medical field. Some are intrigued by the science, the mystery, or the possibilities. Others are influenced by the experiences of their past, such a loved one’s health struggles. Such motivations, along with interpersonal skills, communication style, and preferences for prevention and treatment are often best explored in conversations over the first few visits. Do your homework first—peruse their website, read any blogs or articles they publish, search for reviews, etc.—then probe in areas that matter most to you. Do you want to know more about an area of specialization? Specific treatments or non-surgical interventions? Openness to alternative therapies? Ask! Healthcare providers should be open to communicating in a way that makes you feel comfortable, knowledgeable and confident, all of which can contribute to more thoughtful, thorough care.
Learn more about Southwest Spine & Sports
At Southwest Spine & Sports we offer a concierge-type approach for our regenerative medicine patients and the highest caliber of treatment that you expect and deserve. Michael Wolff, MD and his team of providers , pride themselves in providing expert, individualized care that addresses the root cause of the pain and not just the symptoms.
Contact us today to schedule your consultation, meet our friendly team and get answers to your health questions that matter most to you.
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