Hi everyone. I’m Fran. When I need tips or information fast, I’m just like you. I'm looking for the same answers. But sometimes these things don’t always pop up, say, on your search engine of choice…I hear you. Everyday tips for everyday life? Let's figure out how, together.
If you are anything like me, the doctor is the last place you think of scheduling a visit to. You have a zillion things going on. You have to go to work. You have errands. If you have kids, you have play dates and/or after school activities. You have home improvement projects on the weekends, parties, family gatherings. Then, you watch the news and see the state of health care and it may worry you. But, the truth is, no matter what we are doing with ourselves, it must include visiting your doctor(s). Don't worry, this is not a soapbox kind of thing. I just have some tools that might help make the process a smoother one for you.
I recently read a blog post by Mark Cuban. He used his often vibrant language and hilarity to discuss his visit to a specialist. Heck, if this multi-billionaire, owner of a championship NBA team, and “Shark” can put himself out there to benefit his fans and readers, maybe heeding the advice isn’t such a bad thing. He’s just one of many famous personalities and celebrities to share their personal medical stories with us.
We are so fortunate to live in an area with the highest-rated medical groups and hospital systems in the country and in certain specialties, the entire world. Take your pick of associated physicians from: North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, St. Francis Hospital The Heart Center, Winthrop University Hospital, NYU Langone Medical Center and it’s Hospital for Joint Diseases, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Columbia and Cornell’s New York-Presbyterian Hospital (home of Dr. Oz and now ABC’s NY Med). Why not take advantage of seeing THE BEST to get the uppermost level of care and stay as healthy as possible?
A lot of people ask for me resources to find a good doctor and/or a specialist before they ask their providers for a referral. So, I want to share the following sites and reference information with you, too:
- New York State Physician’s Profile: Certain required and optional information is available on all physicians in New York State. Such information including: doctor's medical education, translation services at the doctor's office, legal actions taken against the doctor. To see all the information that is available for each doctor, search on by doctor's name.
- New York Magazine Best Doctors (also in print form at your local public library)
- Top Doctors: New York Metro Area by Castle Connolly Medical (available in your local public library’s adult reference area)
- MedlinePlus: Produced by the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine and provides information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues in layman’s terms. MedlinePlus offers reliable, up-to-date health information, anytime, anywhere and for free.
- New York State Department of Health: Resources and links for a wide variety of health-related topics for New Yorkers.
- If you or someone you know is having difficulty finding affordable health insurance, you may want to consider Healthy New York (Eligibility varies and restrictions may apply).
If you need more specific medical advice, contact your physician or pharmacist.
And, no matter how busy you are, please take care of yourselves out there.
*I make the disclaimer that I am not a doctor or healthcare provider. I am not soliciting or representing any of the mentioned healthcare groups or services. I provide links as informational tools, examples and for further explanation. If researching a doctor, medical group, health-related topic, or any healthcare provider, please proceed with your normal caution. You may be subject to various Internet terms of usage. As always, read through all the terms or use, third party policies and do not feel pressure to provide any information you are not required to provide. If signing up, registering or joining with a site, please proceed with your normal caution. If you are ever concerned about junk e-mail and snail mail, you can opt-out of communications using that company’s policy pages.
