• How to change to a different doctor
• How to decide on a doctor from the website?
• How to choose a doctor at Kaiser

How to change to a different doctor

I would like to change my medical doctor at Kaiser (Oakland). I have gathered some recommendations from this blog and from my OB/GYN nurse practitioner but none of these are on the ''choose your doctor site. Is there any other way to get a new doctor besides this online list? Is it possible to call a doctor directly or someone not in an anonymous call center? Thanks

How to decide on a doctor from the website?

I've been a Kaiser patient for decades but never had a personal physician, simply seeing many different docs on an ad hoc basis. Now I'm turning 50, my medical needs are increasing and not having a doctor is becoming a liability. I need to select a doctor from the ones currently available (from the Oakland Kaiser website). Aside from the personal statements the only other info is where they went to med school & did their residency & whether they are board certified. What I'd like advice on is this: How important are these considerations: which med school gave them their degree & whether they are board-certified in internal medicine? I'd appreciate advice from any knowledgeable people about this, and any other tips on selecting a doctor. Thanks. Monica

I am the sort of patient who is assertive, actively involved in whatever my issues are (I do research and organize myself well before appointments), and consider my doctors as collaborators in my health care- so I'm picky. What I've done is to make appointments to meet different doctors until I found one I really liked. I've asked nurses and personal friends for recommendations as to who to check out. This is a time consuming process, but it's worth it to me. I'm in my 50's also and have several ongoing medical issues, and I want doctors who know my history. Where they went to med school is not as important to me as how smart they are, and most of all how well we can communicate. I take into consideration their experience also.

I'm willing to travel to any facility within reasonable distance (I live in N. Berkeley) for a doctor I like. My former prim practs have been in Richmond and Oakland, my current one and my ENT surgeon are in San Rafael, I followed my GYN from Richmond to Petaluma, my allergist is in Richmond, my former psych was in SF and my current one is in Union City. I don't happen to like Oakland- I find it rushed, the staff can be unfriendly, I hate the fumey parking garage, and I find it time-consuming to get there thru city traffic. All the other facilities I've mentioned (except SF) are easy and pleasant drives for me and I like the facilities and staff. Except for my former psych doc who was recommended by a psychiatrist outside Kaiser and my current one who was recommended by my first, I've found all the others by trying out different available docs.

This is the process that's worked for me. anon

How to choose a doctor at Kaiser

Re: Kaiser Pleasanton Pediatricians
About the Kaiser system...you choose your own primary care doctors--Internal medicine, pediatrics and OB-GYN. You can either do it over the web (see below) or when you are first seen in clinic. There is also a physician selection 800 number (which I don't know off hand). You cannot choose a physician when you call the call center for an appointment (for a number of arcane computer system reasons). I think the easiest way is to choose over the internet. Just Google the Kaiser Permanente site. On the home page, click on the ''members'' icon on the left (0nce you've chosen the northern california region). Once you get to the members page, you'll see ''A vital step: Choose your own physician'' on the left. After that, the program is self-explanatory. You can see which pediatricians at Pleasanton have open practices and you can check out each open panel pediatrician's home page so you can learn more about him/her. The site allows you to choose a pediatrician (or other primary care doctor). You can also link to all sorts of pediatric health information from the physician's home pages. I'm not sure, but I think the first time you get on the site, you might also be asked to choose a password. The Kaiser Permanente web site has a lot of interesting information--when you have a chance, you should check it out further.

One other thing...if you choose a doctor, and decide after meeting that person, you don't feel comfortable with him, it's okay to change again. You're not locked in. I have a closed practice, otherwise I'd offer to take you.

Good luck with your decision and welcome to Kaiser! madelyn