We all want high-quality health care, but it's hard to know how to choose. There are many things to consider, including
- What your insurance covers
- Whether a healthcare provider or service is accredited
- The location of a service
- Hours that the service is available
- Whether you like a healthcare provider's personality
On this page you’ll find information to help you choose a healthcare provider or service.
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Choosing a Doctor
(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/choosing.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol/Publicaciones/seleccion - Guide to Health Care Quality: How to Know It When You See It(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/guidetoq/index.html
- Your Guide to Choosing Quality Health Care(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - Large PDF file - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/qualguid.pdf
- Selecting a Health Care Provider(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/
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Choosing a Cleft Palate or Craniofacial Team(Cleft Palate Foundation) - http://www.cleftline.org/publications/choosing_team
Also available in Spanish http://www.cleftline.org/espanol/equipo_de_expertos
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Choosing a Family Doctor(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/pat-advocacy/healthcare/836.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/pat-advocacy/healthcare/836.printerview.html
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Choosing an HIV Care Provider(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/202?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/202?lang=spa
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Choosing Professionals & Coordinating Services(Center for Autism & Related Disabilities) - Links to PDF - http://ucf-card.org/uploads/factsheets/1187632085_eng.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://ucf-card.org/uploads/factsheets/1187632085_sp.pdf
- Choosing the Right Mental Health Therapist(Center for Mental Health Services) - http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/ken98-0046/default.asp
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For People with Osteoporosis: How to Find a Doctor
(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/find_doctor.asp
- How to Choose a Plastic Surgeon: A Guide to Choosing the Right Surgeon for You(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) - http://www.plasticsurgery.org/patients_consumers/find_member_surgeon/How-to-Choose-a-Plastic-Surgeon.cfm
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How to Find a Doctor or Treatment Facility If You Have Cancer
(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/doctor-facility
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/recursos/hojas-informativas/recursos-encontrar-tratamiento -
Know Your Anesthesiologist(American Society of Anesthesiologists) - http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/know.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/KnowYour%20Anes2008Spanish.pdf
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Let’s Talk Facts about Choosing a Psychiatrist(American Psychiatric Association) - Links to PDF - http://healthyminds.org/factsheets/LTF-ChoosingPsych.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://healthyminds.org/multimedia/choosingapsychespanol.pdf
- Looking for a Qualified Surgeon? Here's How(American College of Surgeons) - http://www.facs.org/public_info/yourhealth/findadoc.html
- Mental Health Provider Degrees and Certifications(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/mental-health/MH00077/METHOD=print
- Mental Health Providers: Find One to Suit Your Needs(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/mental-health/MH00008/METHOD=print
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Selecting a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Practitioner
(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/practitioner/
Also available in Spanish http://nccam.nih.gov/espanol/seleccionarundoctor/ - Selecting a Refractive Eye Surgeon(Eye Surgery Education Council) - http://www.eyesurgeryeducation.com/Selecting_Surgeon.html
- Selecting and Working with an Adoption Therapist(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/r_tips.cfm
- Tips for Choosing a Dentist(American Dental Association) - http://www.ada.org/public/topics/tips.asp
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Choosing a Safe and Successful Weight-Loss Program
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/choosing.htm
- Choosing a Transplant Center: A Patient's Guide(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Plan_for_Tx/Choosing_a_TC/index.html
- Dialysis Facility Compare(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/dialysis/home.asp
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Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Large PDF file - http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02174.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02174_s.pdf
- Guide to Choosing an Assisted Living Residence(Assisted Living Federation of America) - Links to PDF - http://www.alfa.org/files/public/ALFAchecklist.pdf
- Guide to Selecting and Monitoring Brain Injury Rehabilitation Services(Brain Injury Association of America) - http://www.biausa.org/Pages/guide_to_selecting.html
- Helping You Choose Quality Ambulatory Care(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_amb.htm
- Helping You Choose Quality Behavioral Health Care(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_bhc.htm
- Helping You Choose Quality Home Care and Hospice Services(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_ome.htm
- Helping You Choose the Hospital for You(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_hap.htm
- Helping You Identify Quality Laboratory Services(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_lab.htm
- Issues to Consider When Choosing a Brain Tumor Treatment Center(National Brain Tumor Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.braintumor.org/upload/contents/330/FactSheet-TreatmentCenter%20rev.pdf
- Long Term Health Care: Plan Ahead(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/long-term-care/HA00054/METHOD=print
- Selecting a Transplant Hospital(United Network for Organ Sharing) - http://www.transplantliving.org/beforethetransplant/hospital/hospital.aspx
- Selecting an ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Program(American Society for Reproductive Medicine) - http://www.asrm.org/Patients/select.html
- Navigating Health Care with Your Family Doctor(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/pat-advocacy/healthcare/navigating.printerview.html
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MedlinePlus: Directories
(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directories.html
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/
- Joint Commission(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/
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National Institute on Aging
- http://www.nia.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol/
- Percent of Persons of All Ages with a Usual Place to Go for Medical Care: United States, 1997-June, 2007(National Center for Health Statistics) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/200712_02.pdf
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Finding a Doctor for Your Child(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/doctor/find_ped.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/find_ped_esp.html
- Choosing Your Health Care Provider for Pregnancy(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pregnancy/HO00111/METHOD=print
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Choosing a Doctor
(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/choosing.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol/Publicaciones/seleccion -
Considering Surgery?
(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/surgery.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/Spanish/surgery-sp.htm - Finding the Right Aging Services(American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging) - http://www.aahsa.org/choice.aspx
- Helping You Choose Quality Assisted Living(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_asl.htm
- Helping You Choose Quality Long Term Care(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_ltc.htm
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Nursing Homes: Making the Right Choice
(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/longterm.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.niapublications.org/agepages/longterm-sp.asp
- Patient Safety - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/patientsafety.html
- Health System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthsystem.html
- Personal Health Issues - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/personalhealthissues.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Choosing a Doctor or Health Care Service is the National Institute on Aging - http://www.nia.nih.gov/
Choosing a Doctor or Health Care Service - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/choosingadoctororhealthcareservice.html