How to Find the Best Doctors: New York Metro Area (3rd ed)

Rating:
Summary: Ambiguous definition of BEST
Review: I am a resident of Manhattan and chose my doctors (PCP, deromotologist and OB/GYN) based soley on what I read in the 3rd edition of this book. While I absolutely love my PCP and dermotologist, my ob/gyn has consistently been a HUGE disappointment. This has led me to question what the editors' criteria for "best doctor" really are. If they are education and residency experience, perhaps my ob/gyn qualifies as one of the best. However, I don't think that this book takes into account the fact that waiting times (I usually wait at least 1 hour to see my ob/gyn), scheduling availability, and bedside manner into account. Just because a doctor went to Harvard Medical School and did her residency at a fabulous hospital doesn't necessarily mean that she has the time (or will take the time) to thoroughly examine her patients. This book needs to address that.

Rating:
Summary: Not the panecia it purports to be
Review: I have been using this book in my search for a PCP. One thing that stricks me as odd is the lack of consistency from year to year. One thing I'd expect of a top doctor is that he or she would be nominated year after year but after siting down in the library with multiple aditions not quite half the doctors are represented for multiple years. Also as another reviewer noted there is little about bed side manner. My current PCP has been in every adition of the book yet I want to switch becuase I'm not comfortable with his bedside manner. I've seen 2 physicians out of this book and I continue to look.

Rating:
Summary: Ambiguous definition of BEST
Review: New to Long Island, I was glad to find a book claiming to identify physicians with expertise. I used the book to select two successive general practitioners and found their performance below average. They were not the diagnosticians I sought, but were primarily referral agents.

In addition to the current problem of managed care expecting physicians to see another patient every 15 minutes, there is an additional pressure on Long Island---the high price of real estate. A doctor living in a $750,000 house on Long Island is barely living a middle class existence compared to Wall Street brokers. There is thus twice the pressure to have a rapid turnover of patients.

People searching for doctors should continue to look for diplomas from the best medical schools...and then ask whether the doctor's mortgage is completely paid off.

Rating:
Summary: How to find the Best Doctors: New York Metro Area
Review: This was book was a lifesaver ! I found this as a good reference for a Cardiologist & Pulmonary Specialist & Endocrinologist. It's informative about the doctor's special interests, faculty positions,and HMO affiliations. Such things as telephone #, address made my search much easier. I had trouble with some other specialists categories like dermatology because the book doesn't measure bedside manner but overall I am very impressed with this book.

It also provides excellent advice like picking a great internist to alleviate any trouble down the line when you have a problem that requires a specialist. It also explains in detail what each specialist does. Great Book ! A MUST HAVE when someone is sick and you need some sort of reference point. This is not a cure-all, you still need to interview the doctor, but it is the best and only good reference out there right now...

Rating:
Summary: Not the panecia it purports to be
Review: This was book was a lifesaver ! I found this as a good reference for a Cardiologist & Pulmonary Specialist & Endocrinologist. It's informative about the doctor's special interests, faculty positions,and HMO affiliations. Such things as telephone #, address made my search much easier. I had trouble with some other specialists categories like dermatology because the book doesn't measure bedside manner but overall I am very impressed with this book.

It also provides excellent advice like picking a great internist to alleviate any trouble down the line when you have a problem that requires a specialist. It also explains in detail what each specialist does. Great Book ! A MUST HAVE when someone is sick and you need some sort of reference point. This is not a cure-all, you still need to interview the doctor, but it is the best and only good reference out there right now...