Can You Research Your Doctor’s Disciplinary History?

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Shapiro Law Group

medical mistakes

You would research a job candidate or contractor working on your house, right? How about the doctor who is scheduled to perform your next check up? Many people would say no to the second question, simply because they are unaware of the different ways to research doctors. There are tools Florida patients can use to conduct this research.

Florida’s Division of Medical Quality Assurance launched www.flhealthsource.gov, which allows patients to access a database of all doctors practicing in our state. The information contained on this website could be extremely useful for patients, as they could tailor searches for doctors to a specific practice area.

Patients can use the website to discover the number of times doctors have been sued for medical malpractice, license suspensions and criminal records. In addition, patients can pull the educational and training histories of doctors. They could also discover if their doctor specializes in certain treatments for specific health conditions because information on the website pulls up certifications held by doctors.

In many ways, the Division of Medical Quality Assurance is the perfect agency for operating this website. The agency regulates 200 different license types for more than 40 medical professions.

While this information might be useful for finding a doctor, some health care practitioners may move states to escape bad records. This is something to keep in mind while using this website.

Why Does Your Doctor’s Disciplinary History Matter?

There are reports in some states of doctors continuing the practice medicine even after their licenses have been revoked or suspended. Some of these doctors may have committed serious crimes or deadly medical mistakes that led to malpractice suits or license suspension. Patients have a right to know of these histories so they can make informed decisions while choosing their doctors.

The Florida medical malpractice attorneys at Shapiro Law Group encourage patients and their families to stay vigilant and ask lots of questions while receiving care.

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