Choosing a doctor or another type of health professional to help with your health care is very important. Never before have people had so many kinds of doctors and other health professionals to choose from. The relationship you have with your health professional greatly influences the health decisions you make and, ultimately, your health.
Talk with your health professional about being a partner in your health decisions. He or she will most likely support your desire to take an active role in your health care.
Think about these important things when you are choosing a health professional:
This topic lists many of the specialties and subspecialties of medical doctors (MDs) and osteopathic doctors (DOs). It also provides listings for other types of health professionals you may see for your health needs. Each listing includes a description of the specialty and information about why you might choose that type of health professional.
Medical specialists are doctors who have completed advanced education and clinical training in a specific area of medicine (their specialty area). Examples of medical specialists include the following:
Other health professionals include the following:
Collect the following information before your visit. Take it with you to your appointment.
Write down:
For more information, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.
Current as of: June 29, 2020
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:Anne C. Poinier MD - Internal Medicine & Adam Husney MD - Family Medicine & Martin J. Gabica MD - Family Medicine & E. Gregory Thompson MD - Internal Medicine
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
© 1995-2021 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Follow Us
Disclaimer
Individual and family medical and dental insurance plans are insured by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (CHLIC), Cigna HealthCare of Arizona, Inc., Cigna HealthCare of Illinois, Inc., and Cigna HealthCare of North Carolina, Inc. Group health insurance and health benefit plans are insured or administered by CHLIC, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CGLIC), or their affiliates (see a listing of the legal entities that insure or administer group HMO, dental HMO, and other products or services in your state). Group Universal Life (GUL) insurance plans are insured by CGLIC. Life (other than GUL), accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and disability plans are insured or administered by Life Insurance Company of North America, except in NY, where insured plans are offered by Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York (New York, NY). All insurance policies and group benefit plans contain exclusions and limitations. For availability, costs and complete details of coverage, contact a licensed agent or Cigna sales representative. This website is not intended for residents of New Mexico.
Selecting these links will take you away from Cigna.com to another website, which may be a non-Cigna website. Cigna may not control the content or links of non-Cigna websites. Details