Going to the doctor is easy. You simply go to the nearest hospital or medical center, ask the nurse on duty, and she will immediately assist you to a doctor that suits your ailment. Of course, you will just be meeting with whoever is available at the moment. But choosing a doctor, well, that is the confusing part. Know that there are different types of doctors for different types of conditions.

With the many ailments and illnesses that plague man today, a doctor's job has expanded from just a simple general check-up to looking after specific body parts or organs. Hence, the field of medicine has branched out into several sub-types that target on specific areas of the body. With these branches are the different types of doctors that see into problems arising from these areas. It is important for us to know our doctors and what his specialization is.

The list of Special Doctors are just some of the specialists you would need and meet when choosing the best doctor that fits your particular need. However, knowing one's specialization is merely a step in choosing the right doctor. There are still many factors to consider in choosing Dr. Right.

Besides having a preference for a man or a woman, or picking a doctor whose office is in a convenient location, how are you supposed to choose? What's worse, choosing a doctor happens to be a very important decision you have to make, as you would be entrusting your life to him/her. Besides, you would want someone who is not just competent, but warm and compassionate as well.

Pointers to Choose the Doctor That Would Be Right For You:

• Choose someone recommended by a friend, relative or colleague. This way, you will somehow know that you are going to "click" with the doctor you would choose.
• Ask around from someone in the medical profession. A nurse working in a hospital would surely have an idea who the best doctor in her hospital would be.
• Once you have narrowed down your choices, you can do a little background checking, e.g. education and training, board certification, licensing and discipline, hospital affiliation, commercial background profiles or malpractice suits. You can get these pieces of information by asking around.

Auscultation - The doctor listens to your heart, abdomen, and lungs through a listening instrument called a stethoscope. Certain diseases produce sounds that are distinct only to them.

Palpation - With the palm of his hand, your doctor applies pressure on your abdomen, neck or chest, feeling for abnormal masses, enlarged organs, or areas of tenderness.

Percussion - The doctor performs a series of tapping motion over your chest, abdomen and back, listening for a dull sound that may indicate a disorder inside your body.

Reflex Test - This is done my tapping the front of a bent knee with a reflex hammer. Your knee normally makes a jerking motion, indicating that the nerve circuit between the central nervous system and the muscles controlling the knee is functioning normally.

The following are some screening tests that your doctor may request you to take in connection with a routine physical exam.

It is always good to know that there are three major divisions of hospital employees: the medical staff, the nursing care and others. Summarized below are the different people you will meet in a hospital on a typical day.

Medical Staff

• Attending Physician - Medical doctor who takes charge of patient care. This doctor orders all treatments, medications, tests and procedures and is normally the patient's primary physician or surgeon.
• Consultant - Specialist called in by the attending physician to give opinions or verify suspicions through tests or procedures.
• Resident - A qualified medical doctor under training in a specialized field after finishing basic medical school. Residency normally takes 3 to 7 years to finish. First year residents are also known as interns.
• Senior Resident - A qualified medical doctor in his final year of specialization. Supervised by the attending physician, this doctor has the most responsibility for a patient's care.
• Medical Student - A student taking up medicine at the school affiliated with the hospital in his third or fourth year.
• Physician's Assistant - Healthcare worker who helps the physician by performing routine procedures, e.g. taking medical histories and blood pressure. He may work for a doctor rather than for the hospital.

Nursing Care

• Head Nurse - In many hospitals, the registered nurse with the greatest nursing responsibility on a floor, ward or a special unit, e.g. intensive care or emergency room. She sees to it that all the patients' needs and doctors' orders on her area of responsibility are met accordingly.
• Charge Nurse - A registered nurse in charge of the floor, ward, or unit for a particular shift. She may take the place of the head nurse during evenings and night shifts.
• Primary Nurse - Also known as the team leader, she is the registered nurse in charge of a patient's nursing care; she coordinates tests, procedures and treatment.
• Staff Nurse - Registered nurse who works with the Primary Nurse or substitutes for her during other shifts.
• Specialized Nurse - A registered nurse who had completed advanced training to specialize on one are, e.g. intensive care, pediatrics, anesthetics, or assisting at surgery.
• Practical Nurse - Normally a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) who gives bedside care, e.g. changing dressings, recording vital signs, administering medications, etc. She can also serve as a scrub nurse in an operating room.
• Private Duty Nurse - A registered or a licensed practical nurse employed by a patient; she is not a member of the hospital staff but practices privately.
• Nursing Student - A student taking up nursing in a school affiliated with the hospital.
• Nurse's Aide or Orderly - Healthcare giver who assists the patients in common chores, e.g. bathing, eating, walking, and getting around the hospital.
• Ward Secretary - A non-nurse who is seated inside the nurse's station taking charge of keeping the records. She also orders tests and supplies for the station.

Others

• Counselor - Hospice worker, alcohol or drug abuse counselor, minister or other person who gives patients pieces of advice to help them reestablish a sense of well being.
• Medical Social Worker - A staff member of the hospital who assists patients with financial, family, and work-related problems brought about by the illness. He may work in coordination with post-hospital health care.
• Medical Technologist - Healthcare specialist who conducts laboratory tests and administers some diagnostic tests and assists with others.
• Therapist -Physical, occupational, recreational, speech, or other specialist who helps the patient recover strength, flexibility and skills they need to return to leading a normal life after a bout of illness.
• Paramedic -Auxiliary medical person who responds to emergencies outside the hospital and performs first aid and other emergency procedures while rushing the patient to a nearby hospital.
• Patient Representative -Administrative worker who handles patients' complaints about the hospital in general, patient care, food, regulations, and other matters.
• Volunteer -Unpaid assistant who functions as a nurse's aid and comforts and consoles patients. A volunteer may also perform administrative tasks.

In order to break this financial barrier between the patient and his doctor, several companies have developed a way of paying for your medical needs through policies or health plans. No two health plans are exactly the same. But the plans available from non-government insurers fall into three groups - traditional fee-for-service health insurance plans, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and preferred provider organizations (PPOs).

There are different kinds for each type of insurer. Although health insurance can be purchased individually, most people are often encouraged to join group plans offered by their employer, union, or other affiliated group. Before, employers pay all or most of the premiums, but the steep rise in insurance costs prompted many employers to shift majority of the financial burden to the employee.

The traditional health insurance plans are quite expensive but give you the widest range of doctors, treatments and hospitals to choose from. They are based on fee-for-service arrangements in which hospital/medical bills are submitted to the insurance company, which pays a certain percentage of the total cost. Often, one needs a separate policy to cover hospital expenses, surgery, and various medical costs, e.g. doctor's fee, outpatient treatments, dental care, and prescription drugs. Increasingly, these plans are placing restrictions on policy-holders by limiting the payments for certain conditions and by requiring second opinions from insurance-company doctors for hospitalization and for expensive procedures and treatments. Other plans provide a lump-sum payment for hospitalizations, which is often less than the actual cost to the patient.

Health maintenance organizations are forms of prepaid health care. Your medical care is being provided by an HMO staff and by affiliated doctors, hospitals, and clinics for a fixed monthly fee. There is normally no deduction in this arrangement. The HMO provides specialists for consultations or surgery, pays hospital expenses, covers the cost of examinations and tests, outpatient treatments, and usually prescription drugs. Dental care is normally covered, however, by a separate policy. HMOs are more likely to pay for preventive care as compared to traditional plans.

HMOs are generally less expensive than traditional health insurance, but they do restrict your choice to doctors and specialists contracted by the HMO and all treatments must first be approved by your primary doctor. Some "open" HMOs will pay a percentage of an outside doctor's fees.

Before choosing an HMO, here are a few pointers you might want to consider:

• Cost Containment and Physician Incentives. Ask exactly how they reward their doctors for cost containment. Make sure that the system won't keep you from having needed tests or seeing a specialist.
  • Among the methods HMO uses to control costs, do they, directly or indirectly, provide any kind of financial and/or job security incentives (negative or positive) to any of their physicians to limit diagnostic tests and referrals to specialists?
  • Detail their cost control methods as they affect their physicians and other medical care providers.
• Physician Credentials. Ensure that a competent, well-trained physician will always treat you.

• Medical Necessity. Know up front who decides what is "medically necessary" in my case.

• Appeal Procedures. Know the appeal procedures and the length of time it will take them to reply.

• Choice of Physicians. Ensure that you will have free choice of physicians within your Plan. Also ask who pays, and how much, if you want to see a doctor outside your Plan.

• Revenue Breakdown. Know the percentage of their revenue that actually goes to treat patients as compared with marketing, administration and profit.

• Prescription Drugs. Describe how the HMO decides what drugs to provide for their patients. You need to be sure that you can get the best drug for my particular medical problem.

• Access to Specialists. Know how does your HMO decide when you should get to see a specialist.

Emergency Care. You should be able to get prompt care in a medical emergency.

A preferred provider organization is a cross between traditional health insurance and an HMO. In a PPO, the insurer generally provides you a list of the doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers affiliated with their company and who have agreed to charge a lower fee than the going rate in return for assured number of patients. If you pick a provider from the list, the insurer pays the cost entirely. If you go to someone else who charges more, you have to pay the additional cost. Before you can be admitted to a hospital for confinement or receive a very expensive treatment, PPOs usually require a review and approval by their doctors. PPOs are less expensive but are less flexible than traditional fee-for-payment insurance policies; more expensive but more flexible than HMOs

Remember that health is wealth. In whatever medical situation you are in, always seek the best medical attention. It is only you who can ensure this by taking extra measures in ensuring that the doctor or the medical insurer you choose is just right for you. After all, it is your health you are safeguarding.