How to select a doctor

There are many kinds of doctors who evaluate/ treat people with liver disorders. First, there is the family physician or internist. These doctors are also referred to as primary care physicians (PCPs). They often first discover that something is wrong with the liver. From there, the patient is customarily referred to a specialist—either a gastroenterologist, hepatologist, or infectious disease specialist—for further evaluation/ treatment.

It is essential to find a doctor who has a significant amount of experience in taking care of people who have liver disease. Information about hepatitis and liver disease rapidly changes over the years. A doctor may have trained in the general specialty of gastroenterology, which includes some training in liver disease, or the doctor may have additional training specifically in liver disease

Some doctors have a very large practice but treat very very few individuals with liver disease. Other doctors have a relatively small practice, but it may be one that is devoted primarily to taking care of people with liver disease. And some doctors, despite being known in the field of hepatology, have not actually treated many people with liver disease. These doctors, who often work at large, well-respected hospitals, have devoted their careers to liver disease research rather than patient care.

While a liver specialist is primarily involved in prescribing mainstream medical treatments, he should also be knowledgeable about the available alternatives to conventional medical therapy. Extensive evaluation of any alternative treatment is essential before its effectiveness can be assessed for sure. How familiar is the doctor with the alternative therapy in question? How is the doctor basing his recommendations as to the alternative in question or no? How many of the doctor’s patients tried this alternative treatment, and what were the results (success/ failure)? While the doctor may not necessarily recommend their usage, it is important that he be conversant with their pros and cons.

It is important to know how experienced the doctor is in treating patients with liver disease. However, while you may be tempted to ask the doctor his age or how long he has been in practice, these questions are of questionable usefulness. Though most people would prefer not to be treated by a doctor who has just completed specialty training, the actual amount of years in practice may sometimes not be a reliable indicator of the doctor’s experience with liver disease.

People with liver disease generally need frequent assessment of their blood work. Therefore, it is important to find out whether blood will be drawn at the doctor’s office or whether the patient will be sent to an outside laboratory to have blood drawn.

There are numerous liver-related websites on the Internet. The patient should find out if the doctor is involved in running one of these websites or no. The doctor should be able to direct the patient to some informative, accurate Internet websites related to liver disease such as this one.