If someone asked you twenty-five years ago how to find a primary care physician in Tampa, you’d likely tell them to check the “Yellow Pages” of their phone book. Today, if you’re under 25 years old, you might not even know what the Yellow Pages is. Given the search power of the Internet, many people today will advise you to type something like “primary care physician near me” into your search browser.

However, searching for Tampa-area primary care physicians will provide you with more than 8,000 potential candidates. This leads you to the next challenge of choosing the best primary care physician for your unique healthcare needs.

With a commitment to providing optimal primary care services to her Tampa, Florida, patients, Health + Glow lead physician Dr. Swapna M. Kallikadan has some tips for you. Individual healthcare needs vary, but the following guidance can help you narrow your search to choose a primary care physician in Tampa who can maintain your health, manage chronic conditions, provide preventative care services, and meet your other medical needs.

Assess Your Healthcare Needs

To narrow your primary care physician search, first assess your healthcare needs. For example, would you and your family best be served by a family medicine doctor, internal medicine doctor, or geriatric specialist? Or, do you need a physician who specializes in specific conditions—diabetes, heart disease, weight loss, women’s health, etc.—as part of their primary care service? Thus, if you determine that an internal medicine physician who lists weight loss and women’s health as a distinct specialty is ideal for your needs, you’ve narrowed your search.

You can further cull the number of prospective primary care choices by evaluating clinic location, hours, and types of appointments. You’ll naturally want your chosen primary care physician to practice in a convenient location. However, would this location better serve you if it’s near your home or office, or will it need to be accessible to public transportation? If work or other commitments may limit your appointment options, the clinic’s operating hours should also be considered by determining whether it’s open late or on weekends. Additionally, in today’s fast-paced, wired world, you should probably choose a physician who offers telehealth options for healthcare issues that may not require an in-clinic visit.

Another factor worth considering is your chosen physician’s hospital affiliations. If hospitalized, your primary care physician’s affiliation with the hospital helps ensure optimal care. Dr. Kallikadan is affiliated with Tampa General Hospital, Florida South Tampa Hospital, and BayCare Health System.

Evaluate Physician’s Costs, Insurance, and Special Services

Insurance could play a role in your primary care physician search, as you’ll need to choose one in-network. If you’re uninsured, you’ll probably want to check whether your prospective doctor offers payment plans or cash-pay discounts. Last, many primary care physicians now charge additional fees for more personalized care and extra healthcare benefits. So, you should assess these fees to see if the benefits meet or optimize your healthcare needs.

Health + Glow is pleased to offer its Tampa patients personalized care through its recently launched Elite Care program. Under this program, Dr. Kallikadan customizes each patient’s preventative care strategy based on their existing health, genetic background, chronic conditions, lifestyle, and health goals. Membership provides patients unlimited office and telehealth appointments, same- or next-day urgent care service, and easy prescription medicine renewals. Health + Glow also coordinates with hospital staff if a patient is hospitalized to ensure that all the patient’s healthcare needs are addressed. Elite Care offers higher-tier memberships with additional benefits, and all Elite Care members can sign up for add-on services to address specific health issues.

Further Evaluate Physician’s Credentials, Experience, and Reputation

Once you’ve narrowed your list of prospective primary care physicians in Tampa, you can further narrow the field by evaluating their experience, credentials, and reputation. You should be able to find information about a physician’s experience on their website, with details like years practicing, medical specialties, board certification, and medical schools and residencies. To ensure that your potential physician has had a trouble-free medical career, check out the Florida Department of Health’s license verification portal, which proves licensing and details any disciplinary actions or public complaints. You can gain a sense of a physician’s reputation by examining patient reviews on sites like Google Reviews, Zocdoc, and similar sites that evaluate professionals like doctors.

The last step in choosing a primary care physician is to undergo a personal consultation to evaluate the prospective doctor and assess the clinic. During your appointment, take note of the doctor’s communication style, listening skills, and ability to clearly discuss medical issues. You should also assess the clinic and its features for cleanliness and modernity, as well as the office staff for their helpfulness and attention to detail.

Combined with everything else you’ve learned about a prospective primary care physician, this visit can help you choose or move on to another physician prospect. In general, you want to select an experienced and skilled primary care physician who makes you feel comfortable and is attentive to your health, medical issues, and concerns.

For Outstanding Primary Health Care in Tampa, Contact Health + Glow

We look forward to meeting you if you’ve included Dr. Kallikadan and Health + Glow in your search for a primary care physician in Tampa. Please schedule an appointment with the personalized primary care experts at our relaxed, state-of-the-art clinic. In addition to primary care, our facility includes a medical spa and IV therapy station to provide patients with a one-stop option to cover the full range of health and beauty treatments.