How can i check the credentials of a doctor

Contact Us. Weather Blog. Watch Previous Newscasts. Investigate TV. Gray DC Bureau. Published: Oct. Share on Facebook. Email This Link. Share on Twitter. Share on Pinterest. Do you have all the information on your doctor? Conducting a background check into your doctor's credentials is important so you know that their license is current and they're the right type of specialist for you. Start by Checking a Doctor's Credentials:. Look on the California State Medical Board website.

Click here to see if your doctor is licensed in one or more of the 50 states. Some state medical boards maintain these records, while in other states, the department of state or department of labor maintains information about licensing. The board requires registration before doing your search. Doctors can obtain additional credentials through specialized credentialing agencies.

Be aware that doctors can elect not to provide their credentials on the American Board of Medical Specialties database. Information on some of these sites is not always as current as the information at the ABMS itself. But if your doctor has been in practice for a few years or more, it might have everything you need to know. Some doctor rating websites may require registration or even a fee to access their information.

Each state in the U. Most states include board memberships in their information about a physician. Most do not require you to register to use their sites. Like the doctor rating sites, this information may not be the most current, but for most doctors, it will provide adequate licensing and board certification information.

There are other ways to find out a doctor is board certified. Some will have plaques hanging in their offices, and others will make the claim on their websites. If they are affiliated with a hospital or other practice, there may be a board certification statement.

Because doctors go through a constant cycle of certification, then re-certification, it's possible a doctor will not be listed on the board certification website.

If you can't find your doctor's name where you expect to find it, you will want to make a phone call to the board you believe the doctor is a member of.

That contact information can be found on each board's website. Do a search for the name of the board, and it should pop up easily in the results. Some practitioners include the acronyms of the board s they belong to after their names on their practice name, business cards, letterhead, prescription pads, and other materials that represent them.