How to Switch Health Care Providers

Changing health care providers can be a difficult and intimidating decision, According to one British Study, most patients change physicians based on one of three issues: "the patient's own requirements; problems encountered with the physician's practice; and problems with the physicians themselves." Regardless of your own reason for wanting to switch doctors, this transition doesn't have to be scary or difficult, and will empower you to take charge of your own health issues.

Things You'll Need

• Insurance contact information
• Phone book or internet

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Instructions

Changing Health Care Providers

• 1

  Find out which providers in your area accept your insurance.

  The very first step in changing health care providers is to find out what doctors in your area accept the insurance you use. This can be done by checking your insurance website, calling your insurance company and asking for a list of approved physicians, or by calling individual doctor's offices and asking them if they take your insurance.

• 2

  Find out who your friends see.

  Ask your friends, coworkers, and family members which doctor they use and who they would recommend. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool, and if your friends like their doctor, it's very likely that you will, too.

• 3

  Schedule an appointment.

  Once you know what your options are, schedule an appointment with the new provider you want to see. This is called a new patient appointment, and it establishes you with your new doctor. This appointment will generally be spent going over your medical history with your new provider.

• 4

  Request your medical records from your previous doctor's office.

  This can be done via fax, in person, or by mail. Most doctor's offices will not accept requests for medical records over the phone due to privacy laws. It's important to have your medical records sent to your new doctor so he can see what sort of treatments you've had done, what your blood work results are, and what your previous doctor did to treat any of your medical conditions.