| Ten Essential Things You Have to Be Aware of Before Choosing Your Cataract Surgeon |
A number of people consider their vision to be their most fundamental sense. Yet, every day thousands of people have cataract surgery on their eyes without having done any research on their eye surgeon. Who performs your eye surgery is one of the most significant decisions you will make.
It doesn't take a large investment of time to choose your eye surgeon if you know how. The following listing will tell you how. With this article you can decide on an outstanding eye surgeon in less time than many people devote to choosing their next automobile.
1. Don't limit your options to solely those eye surgeons in your insurance network.
Despite what your insurance company's marketing brochures may indicate, the main component in regulating who is "in-network" is who is disposed to sign that insurance contract. Presently there is no validated method of rating doctors and any insurance company that indicates their network of cataract surgeons is the most qualified is disingenuous at best.
2. Ask those you trust
Good sources of information include your primary care physician, optometrist, and acquaintances who have had cataract surgery. Even better sources include the operating room nurses and employees at your local hospital or surgery center. They are frequently in surgery with the cataract surgeon and recognize which surgeon is the most skilled. Nurses are frequently very helpful people and will often be ready to respond to your question. The difficulty will be making it past the hospital's automated telephone menu and getting access to a live OR nurse.
3. Research your cataract surgeon's education
Where did your cataract surgeon get his education? You may not know which training programs are the best, but it is easy enough to discover their ratings once you know where your cataract surgeon trained. Two objective sources are U.S. News & World Report's Annual rating of Medical Schools http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/med/search and Eye Hospitals http://www.usnews.com/directories/hospitals/index_html/specialty+repopht
Don't get too caught up on the rating order - if your eye surgeon trained at a top twenty institution she experienced superb education.
4. Research your surgeon's State Licensure
Your eye surgeon must have an active license to practice medicine in her state. In addition to confirming licensure, many state license internet sites will also inform you if there is any history of disciplinary or legal action against your eye doctor. In California you can look up this information online at http://www.medbd.ca.gov/lookup.html
5. Confirm that your Eye Doctor is Board Certified
Board certification is a type of "seal of approval" for all doctors. In order to obtain certification a cataract surgeon must successfully pass both a written and oral test. Additionally, younger eye surgeons must re-certify every decade - a process that can take up to three years to complete. You can confirm that your ophthalmologist is board certified by checking the website: http://www.abop.org or http://www.abms.org
6. Visit your surgeon's Medical Practice Internet Site
Assuming the above-mentioned background check is favorable you can sometimes get useful information from your cataract surgeon's web site. Although several sites do supply educational articles, keep in mind that the site's central role is to market the practice. You won't discover anything unfavorable about your doctor there, but it can reassert the constructive data you have already found and afford you some insight into the ophthalmologist's background and practice philosophy.
7. Discover what others have gone through.
Are recommendations available online (physician rating sites or practice website)? Are testimonies accessible in your cataract surgeon's exam room for your viewing? Will your physician supply you the name and phone number of an individual who had surgery that you can talk to?
Keep in mind that Federal privacy regulations limit the quantity of information your physician may be able to issue you regarding other patients who have had eye surgery. However, it should not be too troubling for your physician to come up with a live individual who would volunteer to discuss the eye surgery experience with you.
8. Check how many surgeries your cataract surgeon has performed.
There is a reason they call it the "practice of medicine." Just like a sports pro, a cataract surgeon's skills improve with practice and experience. Every surgery differs in its "threshold" number (the number of surgeries necessary for the ordinary surgeon to become proficient). For cataract surgery I think this number is probably around five hundred.
If you are uneasy enquiring straightaway then bring somebody with you to the appointment to inquire for you. This is a very important question. These are your eyes. You only have two. Get over your hesitation. Just ask.
9. Meet the Eye Doctor.
The above inquiry can give you an idea if your cataract surgeon is well-qualified to do your surgery. Notwithstanding, you cannot know if this is the eye doctor you want working on your eyes until you see with him or her. In addition to substantiating his or her certification, you need to be comfortable with this person.
Trust is a central consideration that can't be sufficiently developed without encountering your doctor in the flesh.
10. Lastly, get a second opinion.
Most people would not buy an auto without test driving it and at least one other car. Why would you restrict your choice of eye surgeon because "he's on my HMO" before getting a sense of how comfortable you are with the choice your insurance has made for you? This is a very big decision.
Unless you are entirely at ease with your ophthalmologist, get a second opinion.
The most experienced eye surgeons do not mind that you have or are going to get a second opinion. As A Matter Of Fact, one quick test of your surgeon's comfort with his or her own ability is to let her know that you would like a second opinion. If the ophthalmologist becomes defensive about this then you know the second opinion was a great idea, after all.
In summary, there are many things you can easily do to support that you have made a well-informed decision about who will perform your surgery. Regarding the importance of your vision, you owe it to yourself to complete this inquiry before having cataract surgery.
© Copyright 2009 David D. Richardson, M.D.
David D. Richardson, M.D. is Medical Director of the San Gabriel Valley Eye Associates, Inc. He received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, is Board Certified, licensed in California, and has performed over 2,000 cataract surgeries. He is taking new patients.
In his spare time he shares his thoughts about cataract surgery on his blog http://www.about-eyes.com
San Gabriel Valley Eye Associates, Inc.
207 S. Santa Anita Street, Suite P-25
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 289-7856
http://www.sgveye.com
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