Neurological disorders can take a massive toll on your physical and mental health, preventing you from carrying out your day-to-day tasks and living a comfortable life. Common neurological diseases are strokes, migraines, headaches, brain tumors, traumas, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and head injuries.
A neurologist is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats disorders of the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. A professional neurologist performs various diagnostic tests and exams, evaluates the results, and creates a treatment plan for their patients.
According to Dr. Ruham Nasany, most people with neurological diseases find it challenging to choose a qualified, experienced, skilled health provider. If you have the same issue, you can rely on the following seven tips to find a reliable provider and seek adequate treatment. Read on!
1. Get Referrals
Discuss your problems with your primary care physician and ask them to make a referral to a specialist neurologist. Once your doctor refers a specialist, ensure you send your medical history and other essential information to the hospital or clinic before the appointment.
You can also call the clinic and make an appointment with the neurologist. In some situations, your primary care physician will book the first appointment. Ensure you send pertinent information, including your health history, to the neurologist.
2. Check for Credentials
Before scheduling an appointment with the neurologist, Dr. Ruham Nasany recommends checking the health provider’s credentials. For instance, you can check your state’s official site to get basic information, such as the full name, address, specialty and sub-specialty.
3. Match your needs with their subspeciality
Determine the subspeciality training and the number of years of experience your potential neurologist has spent in the field. You can search online or call the clinic/hospital to seek this essential information.
For instance, subspecialties to ask for are epilepsy, neuro-muscular, headache medicine, vascular neurology, neuropsychiatry, movement disorders, and neuro-oncology.
The purpose is to determine whether the potential health provider can further diagnose your neurological disorder and provide you with adequate treatment. So, experience in subspeciality matters.
4. Online Research
There are dozens of online tools that offer information about neurologists practicing at hospitals and clinics across the U.S. You can perform online research to find a reliable tool to get information, including education, location with map, contact information, and patient ratings.
You can also visit the neurologist’s official website or use the “American Medical Association Doctor Finder” tool to look for a qualified, experienced, and licensed neurologist. Remember, this tool has registered more than 814,000 doctors, including neurologists in the U.S.
5. Check your insurance coverage
Insurance companies review their networks from time to time to add or remove health providers from their lists. Your insurance provider changes the list to ensure the network remains high-quality and low-cost.
So, check to see if your neurologist is in the insurance network before scheduling an appointment. The purpose is to avoid surprise medical bills. Call your insurance company and ask the representative whether it covers the neurologist fees and how much it will pay.
6. Evaluate the clinic setting
According to Dr. Ruham Nasany, evaluating the clinical setting is another factor to consider when choosing a neurologist. Whether academic or private clinic, and a single neurologist or multi-physician practice are all important factors to think about.
7. Personal encounter
Your relationship with your neurologist will likely be a long-term one considering the nature of neurological illnesses. You should make sure that your are comfortable with their approach, level of communication, and style of management. No two physicians are the same, and no two patients are the same. You should not hesitate to ask for a second opinion or consider finding a different neurologist if you feel you and your neurologist do not fit. However, beware of “doctor shopping” as well. Constantly changing providers will negatively affect finding a treatment path, and having a satisfactory management plan.
Final Words
Finding a licensed, board-certified, and experienced neurologist in your local area can be a daunting and time-consuming task. However, you can get the job done adequately with these essential tips and tricks based on Dr. Ruham Nasany’s insights.
