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Medical Forum / General / General / September 2005Choosing a consultant based on proven ability?
In the UK, is there information available to the public on the level of skill, effectiveness and successful practice of specialist medical consultants? I want to pay for specialist consultation. It's an expensive business and I'd like to ensure value for money. I'd also like to increase my chances of attaining good health by making informed choices in these matters. Regards, Lila Duncan > In the UK, is there information available to the public on the level of > skill, effectiveness and successful practice of specialist medical [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Regards, > Lila Duncan No, not of a statistical nature for individual consultants as far as I know, only star ratings reports for each NHS trust. You can only see a consultant privately in the UK following recommendation and referral by your general practitioner. If you try to arrange a consultant appointment yourself *most* consultants will ask you to see your GP first for a referral letter. I would be dubious about a consultant who didn't do this. Experienced GPs know which consultants are good for each speciality and in effect act as 'gatekeepers' to the private medical sector. Consultants have proven their ability to GPs via their NHS and private work. Your GP's experience is of course limited to the local area. In some specialities such as orthopaedics there will probably be a choice of several, but for neurology there may only be one. For some very highly specialised work there may only be a consultant in a major teaching hospital, often in London. If you have a preference for a particular consultant you can ask your GP for a referral to that consultant. If you lack faith in your GP then you are in a difficult situation. You may find these web sites helpful: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/focus/selfpay/advice.htm http://www.patient.co.uk/find_me.asp http://www.bupahospitals.co.uk/asp/searches/consultant/consultantsearchcriteria.asp  SignatureTo reply replace telone with onetel > > In the UK, is there information available to the public on the level of > > skill, effectiveness and successful practice of specialist medical [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > -- Thanks very much for the helpful information. Perhaps having a star rating for medics would raise a number of difficult problems. Even so, it would be helpful to have access to some background information on those people I would be paying to take my life and well being into their hands. Is the lack of competency information on medical consultants peculiar to the UK, or is it a more widespread phenomenon? What if I wanted to seek worldwide for a medical consultant with a proven record of excellence in a specialist field? Is such information available in any centralised, structured form? Is such information available in any form? Regards, Lila Duncan > Thanks very much for the helpful information. Perhaps having a star > rating for medics would raise a number of difficult problems. Even so, [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Regards, > Lila Duncan I don't know whether other countries have publicly available competency information on individual doctors or not. I think that all we can do in the UK is confirm that a doctor is on the medical register with the General Medical Council. In many countries the family physician doesn't act as gatekeeper to the specialists and patients can see whoever they wish. Many UK patients are travelling to India, for example, for private surgery that is much cheaper than in the UK, without any involvement of the GP. In theory, our GP gatekeeper system offers us some protection; it isn't just about medical etiquette. Thanks, I accept that the gatekeeper system offers us some protection. It may well have been set up for this very purpose. There's still no doubt that the special status of medical practitioners does veil them from scrutiny by the public. So, possibly more information and less gate keeping might benefit the patient in some ways. I looked at the sites from the links you provided. There was a lot of useful information to be found. The link: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/focus/selfpay/advice.htm was particularly helpful and did suggest that the patient should acquire a substantial amount of background information about consultants before committing to them. I'm not sure it quite clearly explained how this can be achieved though. I'll have to read it again to clarify that. Regards, Lila Duncan |
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