How to Find Out About a Doctor's Background

Doctors wield tremendous power and authority, so it only makes sense that people would want to investigate doctors' backgrounds before entrusting them with their health. Much information about doctors is available online and for free, both through private services and state organizations.

Instructions

Checking A Doctor's Background

• 1

  Look the doctor up on the American Medical Association website. The AMA DoctorFinder has basic biographical information on more than 800,000 member doctors. AMA membership is not required to practice medicine, but AMA member doctors have formally agreed to support the organization's public-policy efforts and abide by its code of ethics.

• 2

  Check with your state medical board. State medical boards often have easily searchable databases with extensive information on a doctor's background. In Massachusetts, for example, the database says where doctors practice, where they were educated, whether they have been implicated in malpractice lawsuits, and whether their state medical board or hospital has taken disciplinary action against them.

• 3

  Use DocFinder. DocFinder (docboard.org) is a free online database that compiles information from more than 20 states and links to databases from other states. It is useful for checking the background of a doctor who has practiced in more than one state. The amount of information about each doctor varies based upon the states where the doctor has practiced. Most entries contain the address of the doctor's practice, the school from which the doctor graduated, the doctor's specialty, and the status of the doctor's license.