Choosing the Best Pediatrician for Your Kid | Kids First Pediatrics

If you are getting ready to have a baby, particularly if this is your first child, there’s a lot going through your mind. You are excited to have a new member of the family. You are looking forward to all of the great moments you are going to celebrate together. You can’t wait to challenge yourself in ways that you have not before. At the same time, there are a lot of important decisions you have to make. Where do you want your child to go to school? How are you going to support your child financially? Who is going to be your child’s pediatrician? If you are trying to choose a pediatrician for your child, there are several important points you should keep in mind. What do you need to think about?

What Is the Communication Like with Your Doctor?

One of the most important things you have to think about is the communication you have with your doctor. No matter how good his or her skills are, these are not going to be helpful if you and your doctor or not on the same page. Your doctor has to understand what your goals are in order to serve your child. At the same time, you have to understand what your doctor is saying in order to implement his or her recommendations. Therefore, sit down and talk with your child’s doctor before you make a decision. Make sure you are on the same page. If you have any questions or concerns, bring them up.

What Is the Practice’s Availability? 

Once you have found the right practice, you have to think about the availability of the doctors in the office. Do they actually have room for a new patient? How long is it going to take for you to get an appointment? Remember that during the first year of your child’s life, he or she is going to go to the doctor a lot. It would not be unusual for a child to have six visits to the pediatrician by the time he or she reaches 1 year of age. You need to make sure the doctor has the time and energy to see your child. What is the availability like in the practice? What is the average wait time? Make sure you get these questions answered before you decide to book an appointment. 

What Is the Location of Your Doctor?

Next, you also have to think about the location of the practice. Keep in mind that a lot of practices have multiple offices in the area. It is not unusual for some practices to have a dozen locations. Are any of the locations close to you? Is a doctor you would like to see at that office regularly? You need to make sure you can get to the office fairly quickly. Otherwise, you are simply going to spend a lot of time in the car. You should also ask the practice is going to be opening any new offices in the near future. Particularly if you are still relatively early in your pregnancy, there is a chance that the practice might be opening a new office at some point in the near future. You should see if this office is going to be close to you. 

What Do Other Families Have to Say?

In addition, you should also read reviews of the pediatric practice. What do other families have to say? There are several locations where you can see reviews. One of the first places you should look is the website of the practice. You want to work with a doctor who was open, honest, and transparent about what other people have to say. There are independent websites where people leave reviews of doctors as well. Finally, see if the practice will be willing to share a list of references. Due to patient privacy issues, they may not be willing to do this; however, if they do have a list of references, feel free to reach out to them and see what other people have had to say.

Do They Have a Strong Network with Other Doctors in the Area?

You also want to see if the practice has a strong network with other doctors in the area. Your pediatrician is a primary care doctor. He or she probably does not have any specialty training. What happens if your child is born with a chronic medical condition? What if your child needs to see a pediatric gastroenterologist, cardiologist, or pulmonologist? You want to work with a doctor who has a strong network in the area. Ask the doctor if he or she has connections with some of the other specialty clinics in the area. Finally, if your child has to go to the hospital, see if your primary care doctor has connections in that building as well. You want to make sure your child gets the care he or she deserves. One of the most important jobs of a primary care physician is to coordinate specialty care.

What Are the Hours of the Practice?

Finally, you also want to see what the hours of the practice are. You may not think your child is ever going to get seriously sick or hurt; however, if something happens to your child, you want to make sure the practice is open to see him or her. Sure, you could go to a local urgent care; however, wouldn’t you rather have your child treated by a doctor who is familiar with him or her? Therefore, see what the hours of the practice are. Do they have evening hours? Do they have weekend hours? Ask the practice what their availability is, particularly outside of regular business hours. This will be important for you to figure out moving forward. 

Are you Looking for a Professional and Empathetic Pediatrician? Come to North Texas Medical Center for the Best Pediatricians in the Area

These are just a few of the most important points that you need to keep in mind if you are trying to find the right doctor for your child. This is an important decision, so you have to make sure you get it right. If you are looking for a professional, empathetic pediatrician in the local area, then look no further than North Texas Medical Center. At North Texas Medical Center, we always place the needs of your child ahead of our own. We will provide expert, compassionate care that your child deserves. Contact us today to make an appointment with a member of our team.