Top Doctors
Primary care physicians create continuity in health care. As your "family doctor," they deliver recurring, preventive care, document medical history and monitor health risks through time. They advise through life's cycles and crises. And as gatekeepers, they guide their patients to specialists, therapists and other care providers.
The dilemma in our growing Sarasota-Manatee community is finding one who accepts new patients. Of the more than 1,300 physicians who practice in Sarasota and Manatee counties, only about 400 practice primary care, and many of those have all the patients they can handle.
Further narrowing your options, if you are insured, you must choose your physician from the insurer's network. Seniors insured through the traditional Medicare plan can self-direct to any physician who accepts payment from the federal program. And private pay consumers, of course, can pick and choose.
"The important thing is to do it before you get to the emergency room," says Dr. Bruce Berg, dean of the Florida State University School of Medicine's Sarasota campus. Berg and two other experts-Jean Opsut, a registered nurse with 33 years of experience and director of quality management and case management at Englewood Community Hospital, and Robert J. George, D.O., associate dean of academic affairs at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton-offer some guidance in finding a good primary care physician.
All three agree that if you're starting from scratch, you should begin with the Sarasota and Manatee medical societies and hospital physician-referral lines. Many hospitals and large physician groups also post profiles of their physicians on their Web sites. (If you're insured, your insurer will provide you with a panel of physicians.)
Board certification is a good sign. "Board certification is one indication that they have taken the time to get the additional education and training in their specialty," Opsut says. "Most insurance plans require board certification [of the physicians in their network]."
To check a physician's credentials, use state regulators' and professional organizations' Web sites. (See accompanying story.) On these sites, you can verify a physician's Florida medical license, education and training, academic appointments, board certifications, proceedings and disciplinary actions, and professional liability paid claims.
The discovery of paid claims or disciplinary actions "would make you think twice about whether this is the kind of person you would want to take care of you," Berg says.
Opsut says a physician's affiliation with a hospital can be another positive indication of a physician's skill. Physicians seeking patient-admitting privileges or being considered for direct hire undergo a rigorous credentialing process at hospitals.
After research, narrow your choices to four to six physicians who are accepting new patients. "People have preferences," Berg says; he even knows Southerners who only consider physicians trained at Southern universities. Then ask friends, relatives and any community contacts for opinions.
Pick one and make an appointment. Take a list of issues to talk about. Opsut says a primary care physician should have "excellent communication skills, be compassionate and caring." But, she says, the ability to communicate is paramount. "It has to be someone you can talk with and share things with."
"If the person is curt and short and not considering you above all other issues, then that physician may not be the one for you," Berg says. "Some people don't object to an autocratic physician," he adds, but they're in the minority these days.
Says Dr. George, "During the appointment, you are going to know how comfortable you will be working with this person." If you're not comfortable, move on to your other finalists.
Most of the region's 1,300 or so physicians are specialists. The Sarasota area has a greater number of specialists per 1,000 residents than most U.S. communities.
"We have one of the highest concentrations of people older than 65. Older patients tend to require more care, usually for more than one condition. They may have to see different specialists four or five times a year," says Marc Lazarus, president of R&L Health Care Advisors, a Sarasota-based consulting firm. "Could the market use more primary care physicians? Absolutely. However, it's a struggle to recruit primary care docs here for a variety of reasons."
New physicians deciding where to practice can peruse reports that show the patient demographics of U.S. communities. The Sarasota-area data show that about 70 percent of the patient population is insured by Medicare. That's inviting for specialists, but not for primary care physicians. Medicare reimbursements to primary care physicians lag behind those to other specialists.
For debt-strapped medical school graduates, "Primary care is a hard sell," says Berg. "Government funding doesn't favor primary care."
"If you're a new doctor, $100,000 in debt from medical school, you weigh those considerations," Lazarus says. "Not enough medical students are choosing primary care."
Two medical schools recently established in the area are changing that trend. The shortage of primary care physicians in Florida, says George, is one of the reasons Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) opened its Lakewood Ranch campus, in 2004, The medical school was established in 1993 in Erie, Pa.
LECOM teaches through "problem-based learning." Rather than wait until their third or fourth year for patient contact, the LECOM medical students study patient cases starting in their first year, learning the sciences at the same time. A group of six or seven students is led by facilitators who have doctoral degrees. In the second semester of their first year, LECOM medical students observe primary care medicine delivered at physician offices, clinics, hospices and other sites.
"The more they are exposed to primary care, the more they are likely to practice primary care medicine as physicians," says George. The 300 medical students training at LECOM Bradenton will eventually train at one of 110 clinical facilities throughout the country. Successful students in the inaugural class of 2004 will graduate in 2008. Student enrollment is expected to grow to 600.
Clinical interactions with patients are videoed for critiques with advisors, who observe and comment on the student's bedside manner. "I can teach them the clinical science, but the art of medicine is something they need to develop," says George, who began practicing in 1968.
The professional presentation and behavior of FSU School of Medicine students are molded through observation and coaching. "People need to know how much you care before they care how much you know," says Berg, quoting a practice adage. In formal and informal discussions, they're taught to frame care around the patients and the environments in which they live. A good physician, Berg says, knows "when to be soft and when to be firm."
In July 2005, FSU medical school opened its fourth regional campus in the historic Weissgerber/Famiglio house in downtown Sarasota, where nine third- and fourth-year students currently study. Enrollment is expected to grow to 20 third- and 20 fourth-year students in several years.
Each FSU student is assigned to an experienced Sarasota physician, accompanying him or her to see patients in a variety of settings. They complete clinical rotations in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry. During their fourth year, students will complete rotations in advanced family medicine, advanced internal medicine, geriatrics and emergency medicine, as well as a variety of electives.
The Florida Legislature created the medical school in 2000 and charged it with educating physicians to serve the state's rural, geriatric, minority and other medically underserved populations.
Once you find a physician, it's completely acceptable to second guess him or her. And the physician can do that as well.
"Ten or 15 years ago, as a physician, you were embarrassed," George says. "Today it's encouraged. The [request for a] second opinion can come from either side, the physician or the patient."
The Internet has changed everything. "People are making more informed decisions today," says George.
Asking for a second opinion doesn't mean you don't trust your physician, Berg says. "There is more than one way to solve a problem."
Opsut says she sees more patients asking for second opinions on major decisions, such as a surgical procedure. "Especially when it comes to surgical procedures," echoes George.
"If your physician gets really upset" that you asked, Berg says, "you should look for another physician."
TOP TECHNOLOGY
BREAKING THE SHAKING
Deep brain stimulation stills Parkinson's tremors
About once a week at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, neurosurgeon James Schumacher, M.D. uses a technique called "deep brain stimulation" to relieve people with Parkinson's disease of its disabling rigidity and involuntary tremors. "It doesn't reverse Parkinson's disease, but it improves greatly the patient's quality of life," says Schumacher, one of a handful of U.S. surgeons training other specialists how to surgically implant the deep brain stimulator.
About 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson's disease, including Muhammad Ali, Billy Graham, Janet Reno and Michael J. Fox; another 2 million people suffer from "essential tremor," a neurological disorder that causes tremors but few other symptoms.
Schumacher drills a hole in a Parkinson's patient's skull and implants an electrode among what he calls "misbehaving brain circuits." The circuits have gone haywire without dopamine, a vital brain chemical that allows the smooth, coordinated function of muscle and movement. A pulse generator implanted under the patient's collarbone sends electrical pulses through a wire to the electrode, neutralizing the cell misbehavior. The involuntary rhythmic shaking is blocked; movement and mobility return.
"Stopping the shaking, the tremors is a great benefit," says Schumacher, the medical director of the Sarasota Memorial Neuroscience Center of Excellence, "but the real benefit to the patient is mobility, the ability to move and walk."
The patient can turn the device on and off by moving a magnet over the pulse generator. Deep brain stimulation becomes an option for Parkinson's patients when traditional drug therapy becomes ineffective.
A Parkinson's disease research pioneer, Schumacher is co-director of the Neuro-Regeneration Laboratory at Harvard Medical School, where he conducts research in stem cell technologies. Schumacher says research continues using deep brain stimulation to treat epilepsy, depression, dystonia and other neurological disorders.
BEDSIDE BAR CODES
A new system boosts patient safety
Since a landmark 1999 study that estimated medical errors kill at least 44,000 Americans each year, hospitals have redoubled their patient safety efforts. Medication errors alone claim 7,000 lives annually, the Institute of Medicine study said.
Leveraging the reliability and accuracy of bar code technology, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota has refined a bedside verification system designed to eliminate medication errors. Called the electronic medication administration record (eMAR), the system enforces the "five rights" of medication management. "It's the right patient, given the right medicine, at the right dosage, by the right route, at the right time," says Lawrence Fink, M.D., medical director of Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. "We are able to assure and document that process."
In 2005, Doctors Hospital dispensed 539,825 medications to its patients. Multiply that total by the five areas for possible error-patient, medication, dosage, route into the body and time of day. That's 2, 699,125 possible opportunities for medication errors in one year, the hospital calculates.
The eMAR system is designed to eliminate those opportunities. In filling a medication order, a hospital pharmacist checks the patient's profile for allergies, test results and other medication orders that may pose potential problems. e-MAR then matches the medication's information against Doctors Hospital's "dictionary" of 1,600 medications to check for possible drug interactions, allergies, dose ranges and duplications. If all's well, the pharmacist fills the order, scanning the drug's existing bar code or creating a bar code for the medication. The eMAR system links the patient's identification and medication's bar codes. At bedside, caregivers wave a wand over the patient ID wristband bar code and the medication's bar code to identify the patient and verify the appropriate medication. If the information in the bar codes synch, the medication is given after the patient's identity is again verified.
"e-MAR is the most exciting and the most important medical technology in Sarasota at this time," says Fink.
SPEED HEALS
A super-fast scanner looks deep.
Computed tomography (CT) imaging, sometimes called a CAT scan, is a powerful diagnostic and treatment tool because it can show several types of tissue-lung, bone, soft tissue and blood vessels-with great clarity. Radiologists use CT to diagnose problems such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.
Increases in machine speed and imaging resolution now allow physicians to capture real-time, dynamic images of organs like the heart, brain and lungs.
The new "64-slice" CT scanner at Venice Regional Medical Center's Venice HealthPark is a speed demon. In each 360-degree sweep around a patient's body, each of its 64 detectors makes X-ray images of a "slice" of the body from different angles. It makes a sweep in less than one second. The CT's computer software processes the image data and assembles the "slices" (think of a loaf of bread).
A coronary scan takes 10 seconds instead of about 20, which means patients don't have to hold their breath. Interventional radiologist Dr. Sergio L. Selva, M.D., estimates it would take 15 seconds to scan an entire body.
Although increased speed benefits patient comfort, the combination of the increased speed and resolution of the new machine allows physicians to detect disease earlier. "The ultimate goal here is to find disease before it becomes a problem," says Selva. The Venice Regional CT scanner enables physicians to detect more cancer tumors and monitor tumors as they respond to treatment.
Selva says the clarity of the 64-slice CT scanner allows physicians to identify "soft plaque" in blood vessels, which is more prone to break away and drop into the bloodstream. The plaque can block a major blood vessel in the heart or neck and cause a heart or brain attack (stroke). "We want to target those at high risk for that first severe cardiac event. Sometimes the first symptom is a heart attack," he says.
The new imaging machine allows physicians to "freeze the heart," eliminating the distortion caused by the heart's movements. Instead of undergoing an invasive diagnostic catheterization, some heart patients now can undergo a specialized coronary scan.
Selva predicts that 256-slice scanners, which would require one sweep around the body, are about two years away. Working prototypes have been built, but computing software and hardware development lags.
DR. ROBOT
Surgeons get a smart new assistant.
In addition to surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and surgical techs, a robot is now "scrubbing in" for surgeries at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
With the vision of an eagle, a big computer brain and four precise robotic arms, daVinci-S extends the vision and reach of surgeons during minimally invasive surgery. The robot acts as an extension of the surgeon, tanslating his hand movements into action. A surgeon's console links to a patient-side surgical cart with four robotic arms that position and maneuver hand-held instruments and a 3-D camera.
"It magnifies an area by 20 to 30 times," says Bernard Feinberg, M.D., chief medical officer at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, "and the image appears three-dimensional. The imaging is amazing."
The system translates the surgeon's hand movements at the console into calibrated movements of the instruments inserted in the body through small holes, from one to two centimeters in length. By not "opening" the body with large incisions, minimally invasive surgery results in less pain and scarring, less tissue trauma, risk of infection, less blood loss and fewer transfusions, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery.
"This is the ultimate expression of minimally invasive surgery," says Dr. Feinberg of Sarasota Memorial, the first hospital in Florida-and among the first in the nation-to acquire daVinci-S.
Urologists, gynecologists and heart surgeons have been trained or are being trained on daVinci at Sarasota Memorial, where they will use the robot for heart vessel and bypass surgery, heart valve repairs, and surgeries for prostate and uterine cancer.
THE LIST
Castle Connolly Medical, a New York-based healthcare research company that published the fifth edition of its book America's Top Doctors, compiled SARASOTA Magazine's exclusive list of the top doctors in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
This year's list includes 51 outstanding physicians. Many outstanding Manatee and Sarasota physicians are not on the list, however; it is not intended to be a comprehensive ranking.
Castle Connolly's physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Using mail and telephone surveys and electronic ballots, they ask physicians and the medical leadership of leading hospitals to identify highly skilled, exceptional doctors. Careful screening of doctors' educational and professional experience is essential before final selection is made among those physicians most highly regarded by their peers.
Physicians do not pay to be included in any Castle Connolly guide or list. Advertising is in no way connected to the selection of physicians.
Allergy & Immunology
Donna M. Jamieson, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2650 Bahia Vista St., Suite 304
Sarasota, FL 34239-2699
(941) 366-9711
Cardiovascular Disease
George Abernathy, M.D.
Venice Regional Medical Center
Englewood Community Hospital
1370 E. Venice Ave., Suite 102
Venice, FL 34285
(941) 412-0026
Echocardiography, nuclear stress testing
Stephen C. Culp, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1852 Hillview St., Suite 308
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-4250
Interventional cardiology
Alberto E. Montalvo, M.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Bradenton Cardiology Center
316 Manatee Ave. W.
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 748-2277
Interventional cardiology
Daniel Pacifico, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1880 Arlington St., Suite 109
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-0060
Colon & Rectal Surgery
Richard Golub, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
3333 Cattlemen Road, Suite 206
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 341-0042
Colon and rectal cancer, laparoscopic surgery, hemorrhoids
Dermatology
Alfred Hernandez, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
1849 S. Osprey Ave.
Sarasota, FL 34239-3614
(941) 957-4767
Dermatologic surgery, Mohs' surgery
Cathy P. Milam, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1750 S. Osprey Ave.
Sarasota, FL 34239-2917
(941) 364-8220
Skin cancer, acne, eczema
Susan Weinkle, M.D.
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Memorial Hospital
5601 21st Ave. W., Suite B
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 794-5432
Skin cancer, Mohs' surgery
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Jose R. Antunes, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2400 Fruitville Road
Sarasota, FL 34237
(941) 365-0333
Diabetes
Family Medicine
Jeff D. Nelson, M.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
3501 Cortez Road
Bradenton, FL 34210
(941) 752-2800
Barry I. Stein, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
6128 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34231-4029
(941) 923-5882
Gastroenterology
Elliot M. Livstone, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
1515 S. Osprey Ave., Suite C-11
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 955-0000
Esophageal disorders, endoscopy
Bruce W. Trotman, M.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
300 Riverside Drive E., Suite 2010
Bradenton, FL 34208
(941) 748-1505
Biliary disease, hepatitis B and C, colon and rectal cancer
Gynecologic Oncology
James V. Fiorica, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1888 Hillview St.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8383
Gynecologic cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer
Infectious Disease
James Knapp, M.D.
Venice Regional Medical Center
Englewood Community Hospital
406 N. Indiana Ave., Suite 9
Englewood, FL 34223-2713
(941) 475-3980
Internal Medicine
Carlos Caballero, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
1801 Arlington St., Suite 2
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8365
Lourdes Espina, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
2650 Bahia Vista St., Suite 106
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 330-1651
Bernard Feinberg, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1921 Waldemere St., Suite 605
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8100
Charles Hollen, M.D.
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
3333 Cattlemen Road, Suite 208
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 379-5121
Robert Schulman, M.D.
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
5831 Bee Ridge Road, Suite 210
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 379-8481
Medical Oncology
Richard H. Brown, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Florida Cancer Specialists
1970 Golf St.
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 957-1000
Caryn L. Silver, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1970 Golf St.
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 957-1000
Breast cancer
Nephrology
Celestino Palomino, M.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
3701 Manatee Ave.
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 746-5840
Neurology
John Cassidy, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
842 Sunset Lake Blvd., Suite 302
Venice, FL 34292
(941) 917-7900
Spinal surgery
Donald Negroski, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1921 Waldemere St., Suite 701
Sarasota, FL 34239-2913
(941) 917-6222
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Gary Easterling, M.D.
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
5741 Bee Ridge Road, Suite 390
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 379-6331
Michael Finazzo, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1921 Waldemere St., Suite 307
Sarasota, FL 34239-2941
(941) 917-8565
Karen Liebert, M.D.
Blake Medical Center
6417 Third Ave. W.
Bradenton, FL 34209-2391
(941) 792-4993
Jennifer R. McCullen, M.D.
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
8340 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Suite 240
Bradenton, FL 34202
(941) 907-3008
Ophthalmology
Liaquat Allarakhia, M.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
4812 26th St. W.
Bradenton, FL 34207-1705
(941) 727-3937
Cataract surgery, glaucoma
David Shoemaker, M.D.
Venice Regional Medical Center
Center For Sight
2601 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 925-2020
Cataract surgery, lens implant
Orthopaedic Surgery
John Hand, M.D.
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2800 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 921-2600
Hand surgery
Mark Lonstein, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
1921 Waldemere St., Suite 609
Sarasota, FL 34239-2913
(941) 917-6500
Spinal specialty
Otolaryngology
Herbert Silverstein, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1901 Floyd St.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-9222
Ear disorders/surgery, Meniere's disease
Pain Medicine
Donald Erb, D.O.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
5350 University Parkway, Suite 201
Sarasota, FL 34243
(941) 917-4500
Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
Jennifer L. Root Mayer, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
All Children's Hospital
1700 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-7490
Pediatrics
Francine Gross, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2934 University Parkway
Sarasota, FL 34243
(941) 359-3737
Helene R. Hubbard, M.D., Ph.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
5989 Approach Road
Sarasota, FL 34238
(941) 922-5366
Developmental pediatrics
Robert Alan Weiss, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1215 East Ave. S., Suite 303
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-3000
Adolescent medicine
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
David A. Siegel, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1700 S. Tamiami Trail
Comprehensive Rehab, 10 East Tower
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-7622
Plastic Surgery
John Leikensohn, M.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
5807 21st Ave. W.
Bradenton, FL 34209-5641
(941) 792-4157
Cosmetic facial surgery
James H. Schmidt, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2255 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-8897
Pulmonary Disease
Bruce M. Fleegler, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
1895 Floyd St.
Sarasota, FL 34239-2907
(941) 366-5864
Asthma, emphysema
Rheumatology
Jeffrey Kaine, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
3500 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239-6026
(941) 316-0231
Lupus nephritis, rheumatoid arthritis
Surgery
Nanette Wendel, M.D.
Blake Medical Center
5601 21st Ave. W., Suite D
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 748-1471
Laparoscopic surgery
Thoracic Surgery
Alessandro Golino, M.D.
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Cardiac Surgery
623 39th St. W., Suite 2
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 744-2640
Cardiothoracic surgery
Clifton T.P. Lewis, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
1435 Osprey Ave., Suite 200
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 952-1913
Cardiothoracic surgery
Richard J. Peterson, M.D.
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Riverview Cardiac Surgery
623 39th St. W., Suite 2
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 744-2640
Cardiac surgery
Urology
Ekiong C. Tan, M.D.
Englewood Community Hospital
779 Medical Drive, Suite 5
Englewood, FL 34223-3980
(941) 475-5405
Prostate cancer
Alan Treiman, M.D.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
1921 Waldemere St., Suite 310
Sarasota, FL 34239-2941
(941) 917-8488
Prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction
HOSPITAL PHYSICIAN REFERRAL LINES
All Children's Hospital, (800) 456-4543 ext. 4444 or (727) 767-4444
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, (800) 450-7087
Englewood Community Hospital, (941) 473-3919 or (888) 685-1598
Blake Medical Center, (888) 359-3552
Manatee Memorial Hospital, (800) 816-4145
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, (941) 917-7777 or (800) 764-8255 ext. 7777
CHECKING A PHYSICIAN'S CREDENTIALS ONLINE
To review a physician's profile
Florida Department of Health
www.doh.state.fl.us (select "Practitioner/Physician Profiling" from the drop-down menu)
To confirm a physician's Florida medical license
Florida Department of Health
www.doh.state.fl.us (select "Licensure, Medical Professionals Lookup" from the drop-down menu)
To check for any professional liability paid claims
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
To verify board certification
American Board of Medical Specialties
www.abms.org (click on "Who's Certified")
America's Top Doctors identifies more than 5,000 top specialists throughout the United States in more than 60 medical specialties for the care and treatment of more than 1,700 disease and medical conditions. These outstanding physicians, representing the top 1 percent in the nation, are affiliated with nearly 600 hospitals across the counter (less than 10 percent of all U.S. hospitals). America's Top Doctors ($29.95 softcover) may be ordered from Castle Connolly by calling toll-free (800) 399-DOCS or by visiting the company's Web site at www.americastopdoctors.com.