AptKeysBody · Finding a doctor
Finding a primary care doctor
You'll need
- Your insurance card, or know you're uninsured
- A list of your medicines, allergies and past conditions
- Your calendar
What to know
- Know what a PCP does: preventive care and healthy-living advice, treating common conditions, judging how urgent a problem is and where to get care, and referring you to specialists.
- Know your options. Family medicine doctors and internists both see adults. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can also be your PCP.
- Search your plan's provider directory on its website, or call the number on your insurance card. Seeing an in-network provider usually means lower costs. Many plans limit your choices, so check coverage before you narrow your list.
- Ask around. Friends and family, your pharmacist or dentist, and your health plan's customer service can all recommend PCPs.
- Call the office and ask whether they accept your plan and are taking new patients. Use the questions below.
- Book a checkup. Marketplace plans and many others must cover a list of preventive services with no copay or coinsurance in network, even before you meet your deductible. Coverage can vary, so $0 isn't guaranteed in every case.
- Bring your card, your medicine and allergy list, and your questions written down.
Watch out Out-of-network doctors usually cost more, so confirm before you book. If something comes up before you have a PCP, urgent care usually saves time and money over the ER for non-emergencies.
Dad note Find a doctor while you're healthy. It's harder to do when you're sick.