10 Ways to Know You Found a Great Doctor

Finding a great wellness doctor is quite tricky in today’s day and age.Most people ask for referrals or surf around on the web.  But person’s experience may not translate into your personal experience. 

What constitutes a great wellness doctor or doctor’s office? Here are 10 qualities that a survey suggested the majority of people wanted in a health care facility.

“The doctor he future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

Thomas Edison

1. Makes Decisions With You: 

A great doctor is patient-centered and values the patient’s power to make good decisions for themselves.  A great doctor will not try to force or manipulate you to make certain decisions but instead will do their best to educate and empower you to make the proper decisions for your health. 

2. Honors Where You Are:

Your doctor shouldn’t just lecture you or try to force you to do anything you are uncomfortable doing.  Instead, they should honor where you are at with your life and understand what your health goals are.  They should do their best to help guide you with simple steps to move you along the process of getting where you want to go with your health. 

3. Understands the Big Picture:

A great doctor understands that life can be challenging and you may have a myriad of stressors in your life.  A great doctor should care about who you are and the challenges you are facing in your life and they should be a source of support and encouragement for you. 

4. Listens to You:

One of the major criticisms of our health care system is the short amount of time doctors have to converse with their patients.  A great doctor respects your time, but also values your input and wants to know your thoughts on your care.  They should be very interested in hearing from you on each and every visit. 

5. Values and Respects Your Time:

You have a busy schedule and your doctors should know and respect that.  Look for an office that has a proficient system, is good with scheduling and looks to get you in and out of the office as quickly and efficiently as possible, all the while providing you with the highest quality care.

6. Explains Things Until You Get It:

Your doctor should always look to explain things well enough until you understand the concept of what they are saying.  Doctors should be able to explain complex topics through metaphors and stories that fit into our cultural understanding. 

7. An Encouraging Coach:

Doctor means teacher and we believe the greatest thing a doctor can do for you is take the time to teach you, coach you, encourage you and pour their heart into helping empower you to take back control of your health.

Your doctor should hold lay lectures and community classes based around their specialty in order to serve you and the community at large.  Does your doctor love to empower his/her patients?

8. Transparency: 

Your doctor should be open and honest with you about the processes involved with healing.  This includes time frame, office visits and overall costs.  They shouldn’t be trying to upsell you or surprise you with hidden processes and costs. 

9. Makes You Feel Loved:

Your doctor should consider you family, after all, he/she plays an important role in your life.  This means that when you are in need, they should do their best to be available and that when you walk in the office, the office team should beam with excitement as if seeing a family member or friend they hadn’t seen in a while.

We all like feeling special and feeling loved and cared for is an important component to our health.  A doctor’s office should go above and beyond to help you feel loved and cared for with your interactions. 

10. Helps You Get Support

We are heavily influenced by the 5 people we spend the most time with.  If you are looking to achieve certain health goals, you need the people around you to share a similar motivation.

A great doctor knows and understands this.  They should encourage you to bring your friends and families members to workshops, lectures, appts and anything else they offer so that you can be supported by people who are close to you.

In addition, your doctor’s office should look to help you get plugged into new people who have similar health goals.  This will be especially important if you don’t have much support among your pre-existing friends and family members.