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- Finding a Doctor
Finding a Doctor
You Get to Decide Who Cares for You!
Your care and health depend on finding the right doctor to help you. Eosinophilic disorders are emerging conditions and many subsets are rare, so not all doctors know how to diagnose and manage them. This 3-step process will help you find the right doctor for you.
1. Clarify What You Need From A Doctor
Think about your needs when you are looking for a doctor. Are you looking for someone to help you get a diagnosis? Do you want to try a new treatment or are you stable and looking for someone to help maintain your current care plan? Are you a complex patient who needs a more experienced doctor to handle your care? Ask yourself these questions to help clarify what you are seeking.
What do you want them to do or help you with?
- Testing and Diagnosis
- Treatments
- Care coordination
- Improve quality of life
What type and length of care?
- Ongoing care
- Consult
- Second opinion
What kind of healthcare provider?
- Primary care physician
- Specialist or subspecialist
- Integrative nedicine
- Other types of providers (dietitian, psychologist, etc.)
Being specific about what you need will help you and the doctor decide if it is a good fit and set you up to work better together.
Is This Doctor A Good Fit?
➤ Does this doctor know about or is willing to learn about eosinophil-associated disease?
➤ Can you work well together with this doctor?
➤ Is their approach to your eosinophil-associated disease aligned with yours?
2. Research Potential Doctors
To find the right doctor, it helps to take some time to research potential doctors before choosing to meet them. Even doctors who specialize in your rare disease will have different approaches and communication styles.
When evaluating a doctor, look for clues on whether they are ready, willing, and able to help you.
| Ready Willing Able | Ready Willing Able Questions | Ready Willing Able Responses |
|---|---|---|
| Ready: | Do they know about or are willing to learn about your eosinophil-associated disease? | Places to find doctors who have experience with eosinophil-associated disease:
|
| Willing: | Can you work together? | Ways to gauge if you might work well together:
|
| Able: | Do you have a similar or compatible approach to diagnosis and treatment? | Understand their diagnostic and treatment approach
|
3. Interview Potential Doctors
Appointments with new doctors can be scary and sometimes disappointing. You wait so long to see this doctor and you just want them to help you. Will this doctor be the one to help you?
How can we know if this doctor is ready, willing and able to help? You can think of the first appointment as an interview where you get to decide if this doctor is right for you.
Use this simple process to decide if this is the right doctor for you.
1. Clarify what you want or need from this doctor
Create a statement that identifies what you are looking for from this doctor. It could look like:
- I’m looking for a doctor to help manage my eosinophil-associated disease
- I’m looking for a doctor to help me get a diagnosis
- I’m looking for a doctor to help explore new treatments for my eosinophil-associated disease
- I’m looking for a doctor to improve my quality of life
- I’m looking for a second opinion
2. Ask the doctor if they are able to help you
As the appointment begins, share what you are looking for and ask the doctor if they can help with that. Remember, this appointment is about you, and your goal is to figure out if they are the right doctor.
- I’m looking for a doctor to help manage my eosinophil-associated disease and work with my medical team. Is this something you could help me with?
- I’m dealing with these symptoms and looking for a doctor to help me get a diagnosis. Is this something you could help me with?
- I have this rare disease and have tried these treatments. Are there additional treatments that could be tried?
- I am dealing with this rare disease. I’m looking for a doctor to improve my quality of life. Do you think you could help?
- I’m here for a second opinion on these symptoms/condition.
3. Determine if this is the right doctor or the wrong doctor
After the appointment, ask yourself if this doctor is ready, willing, and able to help you.
Are they ready?
- If the doctor does not know about or is unwilling to learn about your eosinophil-associated disease, it is not the right doctor for you.
- If the doctor makes statements that you couldn’t have this disease because you are too young, too tall, too short, etc., it is not the right doctor for you.
- If the doctor knows about your eosinophil-associated disease or is willing to learn about it, they may be the right doctor.
Are they willing?
- Did they listen to you? Do they take you seriously?
- Do you feel like you can work with them? Are they open to shared decision-making?
- If the doctor is willing to work with you, they may be the right doctor.
Are they able?
- Are you ok with the plan the doctor has suggested?
- Does the doctor explain their plan, including differential diagnosis and treatment options?
- If the doctor is able to help you, they are likely the right doctor for you.
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