How to Give Your Doctor and Hospital a Fiscal Checkup

Before you put your health in someone else’s hands, it’s smart to make sure those hands are clean—bad medicine is bad for your well-being and your wallet. In addition to malpractice history, which has been made public in 16 states and counting, your doctor’s education, board certifications, and any disciplinary action taken against him or her by the state medical board is all publicly available information. In some states, hospitals are also required to track infection rates, safety practices, cleanliness, and patient satisfaction. Here’s how to conduct a background check on your doctors and hospitals.

How to check up on your doctor
Consult your state medical board. Find the website of the medical board in your state through the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) directory. Go to your state’s site and look for a function called “Licensee Search,” “License Verification,” or “Physician Profiles,” etc. (the exact terminology varies by state). Enter your doctor’s name, which, depending on the state, will pull up information on his or her medical training, licensing, board certification, professional memberships, and hospital affiliations, as well as any history of state disciplinary actions. (For a $9.95 fee, you can also access a doctor’s report directly through the FSMB.) In some states, such as New York and Virginia, you’ll also be able to see whether a doctor has had any malpractice judgments or settlements against him. With a malpractice record, you should look for a pattern. "If there is one settlement, it’s something to ask your doctor about. If there are three or four judgments, stay away,” says Patty Skolnik, a Colorado resident who successfully lobbied for legislation requiring that malpractice information be made available to the public in her state. (Skolnik’s son, Michael, died in 2004 after experiencing complications from a 2001 brain surgery.)