How to Choose a Doctor (from a Doctor POV) Short Answer: You cannot Long Answer: Often people ask me, who is the best doctor for so and so disease, or where will get a so and so specialist in this area... If I have a contact there, a doctor I know and trust, I direct them there. But, otherwise, I am clueless. A time-tested source of information is word-of-mouth. However, we all know how unreliable it can be. A person having a bad experience with a doctor will bad-mouth him aggressively, a person having a good experience might not be as vocal. Or, someone might get cured of their ailments based on the natural progression of disease, and might credit it to the doctor. This type of communication is also seen on Google Reviews. You'd see a lot of 1 star reviews, or 5 star reviews (the latter usually coerced by the hospital's HR department)... but the average population often just ignoring it (much like they do to restaurants, hotels, hair salons etc) Another way people choose is seeing the doctor's online presence, or when they appear on TV/newspapers (latter more often prevalent in earlier times, the former trending now) but being camera-friendly does not equal being competent. You could be swayed by popularity... longer lines outside the clinic could mean better doctors... maybe. But then, that could also mean the doctor is slow, or would want to 'finish' off the consultations in a hurry, as so many patients have lined up. ----------------------------- So, how to choose a doctor? Well, there are certain ways one could do that. One concept I would like to be reintroduced is that of a family doctor. Earlier, when people had minor ailments, they would consult a doctor practising in their locality, who would treat them, and if needed, refer them to a higher centre. This is still prevalent in many towns and villages. One need not go directly to a specialist always. I know it is a counterintuitive notion of having to visit multiple doctors rather than finding the specific one. But the second one is a gamble. What if you went to an ENT specialist, but you needed a neurologist? I would prefer that people have a family doctor they go to often. That brings me to my second point, which is Preventive medicine People often do not realise that Regular Health Checkups are important in picking up subtle clues that would lead to diagnosis of a disease quite early in its onset. Prevention is better than cure na? A 6-monthly, or at least an annual checkup from your family doctor is a must. And then there are various doctors you could visit. Paediatrician for your child, geriatricians for the seniors in your family, gynaecologists... Making yourself known to a doctor, makes it easy in emergencies. Especially one who have a work phone you can contact at any time. (Many specialists don't have this, as they are too busy with surgeries and hospitals full of patients) One does not have to run helter-skelter or frantically calling up many people at that hour. But while choosing a family doctor, don't just go on sweet talk or local reputation. See whether that person is a registered medical practitioner or a quack (doctors are legally required to display registration in their clinics, and soon, there is going to be a compulsory QR-based system to verify.) As far as degree is concerned, personally, I do not believe that alternative medicine in any form works. Look for MBBS or MD/MS degrees Some specialities have a Diploma/Fellowship after these degrees, which too are legitimate. Keep a watchout for fake degrees, which are manipulated to look like the original ones. Also, consider second opinion. Every doctor can get one-tracked on a diagnosis for legitimate reasons. A second pair of eyes might pick up what the first could not. Remember, this is not a sting operation. So just be frank with the second doctor that you just want an opinion, and will prefer the first's treatment.