Find a Doctor
It is important to find a physician you can feel comfortable with. Ask some of the following questions during the course of your visit:
For other factors to consider, take a look at this article from Consumerreport.org, "How to Find a Good Doctor."
Ensure that the Physician you are considering is in good standing. Use the websites below to double check your physician's record.
State of Missouri's regulatory agency. Search the database for any recent actions against a physician registered with the State.
This website provides information for physicians, hospitals, and how to find the right care. Information includes patient satisfaction, experience, awards and recognition, and much more.
Research article looking at how well a physician ranking website matched an accepted measure of quality.
Find a Hospital
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has a database with a listing of every hospital. You can search by zip code or city/state, and then choose from a selection of hospitals to compare against.
Patients are surveyed from time to time about experiences during their stay. This is a resource that has collected all this information. Patient satisfaction rates, mortality rates, among other metrics are all listed here.
This website provides information for physicians, hospitals, and how to find the right care. Information includes patient satisfaction, experience, awards and recognition, and much more.
Find top ranked hospitals by specialty and by procedure/condition.
Find a Nursing Home
Finding a nursing care facility for your loved one is an important decision. When you start looking at your options, consider using this Medicare.Gov checklist which lays out topics to consider.
Medicare Nursing Care Checklist
Medicare.Gov also has a great database you can find & compare nursing homes, hospitals & other providers near you. It's a great place to start if you don't have specific nursing care facility you want to look into yet or facilities you want to explore out of your state.
Preventing Elder Abuse and Neglect
The State of Missouri has resources established to prevent elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Report incidents of elder mistreatment and abuse through this number: 1-800-392-0210.
Find a Dentist
If only it could be as easy as typing "find a dentist" into Google. Such a search may net you a list of databases that are out of date, inaccurate, and heavily supported by advertisements. These challenges tend to only complicate your search for unbiased information.
Ask some the following questions during the course of your visit:
For additional questions to ask or consider, read Your Top 9 Questions About Going to the Dentist - Answered! created by the American Dental Assocation.
Below is a collection of direct and unbiased resources you can use when locating your future dentist.
Find a dentist through MouthHealthy, a service by the American Dental Association: the premier Professional Dental Association in the country.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's official database of board certified Pediatric Dentists.
Great local resource. Database of dentists statewide on a well designed user friendly website.
Find Costs for Drugs/Procedures
Consumer Reports magazine May 2013
Article on significant difference in cost of meds and how to save money
Wall Street Journal article on variety of pricing for procedures and sites that provide cost/price information.
Article on variation in cost of procedures and why that may be.
The National Library of Medicine of compiled information that assists with finding costs of drugs and procedures.