American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Type in the last name and then the first name separated by a space, not a comma. The FSMB site will list any actions related to medical malpractice, but you may want to do further web searches for the doctor by name for suits that may be pending. ProPublica – Vital Signs . If a doctor claims to be certified by a medical board, you'll want to check to be sure that the body that certifies him or her is a bona fide medical specialty board. She has written several books about patient advocacy and how to best navigate the healthcare system. Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. When you get the results, the highlighted number next to the name includes a two-digit prefix and then the license number. To check a doctor's board certification there are a few steps you can take. For others, you'll get the information most quickly at a site like UCompareHealthcare. Medically reviewed by Isaac O. Opole, MD, PhD, Medically reviewed by Ana Maria Kausel, MD, Medically reviewed by Kashif J. Piracha, MD, Ryan McVay / DigitalVision / Getty Images, Importance for a Doctor to Be Medical Board Certified, How You Can Check a Doctor's Background and Credentials, Find out What You Can Learn From Doctors Rating Websites, How to Save Money on Meds With Prescription Assistance Programs (PAPs). There are actually two aspects of verifying a doctor's board certification that patients should be aware of. Conflicts of interest have become a major problem, revealing themselves in recommendations being made to patients that aren't necessarily in the best interests of the patient. Doctors may claim various board certifications in medical specialties. What Do Different Types of Physicians Do? Not all doctors participate in medical research, but if they are affiliated with academic or university medical centers, there is a good chance they are. Check the box next to your doctor's type. Most states include board memberships in their information about a physician. On the one hand, it means they are learning more about your problem, ways to diagnose or treat it, and may be considered experts in the field. Trisha Torrey is a patient empowerment and advocacy consultant. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. You may not know how old a doctor is when all you have is a name, so this information will give you some insight into his or her background and education credentials. Problems for others may become problems for you. Information on some of these sites is not always as current as the information at the ABMS itself. The FSMB site shows medical school education and graduation dates. If a doctor is quite a bit older than you are, and may retire or leave practice before you get older yourself, then you may want to keep searching for one who is younger, or at least closer in age to you. But if your doctor has been in practice for a few years or more, it might have everything you need to know. A doctor with a different belief system—cultural or religious—may make it difficult to get the care you need or want. If your medical problem is acute, then this will be less important. Doctors undergo an extensive educational and residency program, typically lasting between 10 and 15 years. This may give you a clue as to what board that doctor may belong to. On the other hand, it may mean they are being paid by drug or other medical manufacturing companies and their recommendations to you might (or might not) be skewed. These conflicts may mean you will be prescribed a drug you don't really need, or they may mean you are pushed into a clinical trial that is more for the benefit of the doctor than for you. That may give you a clue as to why the doctor moved. A doctor may have been reported problems for anything from a bad attitude to an unclean office to malpractice. Access to the doctor's credentialing information requires you to register and log in. Tips In some cases, the search results will also allow you to see if your doctor has any formal complaints against him, has had prior suspensions or has received any previous disciplinary action. Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. However, be aware that these ratings are subjective and may have been influenced in many ways. However, if your symptoms or diagnosis are chronic, you'll want to establish a relationship with a doctor who can treat you during the rest of your lifetime. With no license, the doctor is not allowed to practice medic… Patient Safety League . Check Consumer Advocate Websites and Courts: 1. Use the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Certification Matters lookup to find out if a doctor is board-certified in the appropriate specialty. The process takes only a few minutes. Once inside the search, you need to click the box next to the type of doctor you're looking up. How to Check a Doctor's Background and Credentials, Ⓒ 2020 About, Inc. (Dotdash) — All rights reserved. For example, you may be assigned a doctor in an emergency room or you must see a different doctor because yours is out when you arrive for an appointment. How to Verify a Medical Doctor's License & Credentials. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. You can learn if your doctor is listed and which board they are a member of. Each state in the U.S. makes its medical licensing information public. You'll then need to search for the individual board websites to get specific doctor certification information, as the AOA does not maintain a list similar to the ABMS's master list of member-doctors. Facilities where a doctor has privileges do additional and ongoing checks of the doctor's credentials, which can be an assurance of their validity. • At www.cedulaprofesional.sep.gob.mx you can check both the general medical and specialty license. Sift through the results that are returned by your state department of health and check to make sure that your doctor is properly licensed and that his or her license has not been suspended. Like the doctor rating sites, this information may not be the most current, but for most doctors, it will provide adequate licensing and board certification information. To learn about possible involvement in medical research, do a general online search with the doctor's name and the word "publication" or "research." An interruption may be due to a variety of circumstances. There are other ways to find out a doctor is board certified. For an older doctor, this may be less important than one who is younger and just getting started in practice. Patient Safety League . For example, if it's your primary care doctor, check the box next to “Physician and Surgeon.” Other doctor types include licensed … Patients need to check the credentials of the doctor and the board from which they are certified. If the doctor has not been licensed for as long as you think he or she should have been, then do some general digging on the web using that doctor's name and possibly other states' names to see if you can turn up his or her former practice.