Creating a List of Doctors and Care Facilities

Start by deciding how important geographic location is to you. Then, you can move on to the following:

  • If you’re in a managed care plan, check the plan's list of doctors first.
  • Get referrals from the physician who has been providing and coordinating your health care so far.
  • Do you know other cancer survivors who were or are being treated at a facility? Ask them what they consider to be the facility's advantages and disadvantages.
  • Network. Ask family and friends for leads.
  • Call your local hospital or medical center and ask for their physician referral service for a listing of specialists associated with that hospital or medical center.

There are many organizations that can provide you with information such as physician names, credentials, qualifications, specialty and contact information. Here are some good places to start:

American Medical Association (AMA)
Web site includes a database called Physician Select that provides basic professional information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States.
Phone: 312-464-5000
Web site: www.ama-assn.org

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
Web site includes Find an Oncologist database that lets you search by first or last name, organization, city, state, country or specialty.
Phone: 703-299-0150
Web site: www.asco.org

American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
Web site includes information on the certification process for physicians and a database that tells you if a medical specialist is board certified. Their publication, Official American Board of Medical Specialties Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists, is available in many local libraries.
Phone: 866-275-2267
Web site: www.abms.org

American Cancer Society
Web site provides a Hospital Locator database.
Phone: 800-227-2345
Web site: www.cancer.org

National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
Online Transplant Center Directory provides information on all NMDP Transplant Centers currently doing bone marrow transplants. Details include diseases treated by bone marrow transplants, marrow donor match criteria, comparative cost information, and specific transplant center results.
Phone: 202-638-6601
Web site: www.themarrowfoundation.org