PULSE DOCTOR, DOCTOR, GIVE YOUR REVIEWS.Byline: Mariko Thompson Staff Writer FINDING THE BEST doctor can be about as much fun as, well, going to the doctor. Since 1994, John Connolly John Connolly is the name of:
n. The process by which a person is tested and approved to practice in a specialty field, especially medicine, after successfully completing the requirements of a board of specialists in that field. , medical school, residency, fellowships and hospital affiliation hospital affiliation Health insurance A contract whereby one or more hospitals agree to provide benefits to members of a specific health plan. See Affiliation. . There's also information on enrolling in clinical trials. Connolly shared some of his and Castle's strategies during a visit to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Q: Why publish a guide to America's top doctors? A: Too often, we don't put any time into choosing a doctor. We'll spend a lot of time reading restaurant reviews to go to the right restaurant or movie reviews to go to the right movie. And then we'll just pick the name of a doctor out of a phone book. Q: In the past, you've published regional guides to help people choose primary-care physicians and specialists. Why do a national guide? A: We realized after a few years of publishing those books that there were people all across the country with serious or critical medical problems. They wanted to find a very top person whether in their region or somewhere in the nation. Q: To compile this guide, you surveyed doctors. Was that based on the premise that doctors know who the best people are in their fields? A:: We surveyed more than 236,000 doctors by mail, by phone and by Internet. You could ask consumers. But what they mainly know is bedside manner bed·side manner n. The attitude and conduct of a physician in the presence of a patient. bedside manner Medtalk A popular term for the degree of compassion, courtesy, and sympathy displayed by a physician towards Pts . I think it's only physicians and nurses that really get to see doctors perform firsthand. Q: What should a patient look for in a specialist? A: It's very important to look at four things: 1) Board certification: Once you become licensed as a medical doctor, you can call yourself any kind of specialist you choose. The only way to know if a doctor has really had training in that area is to see if they're board certified board certified, adj the status of a dental specialist such as an orthodontist who has become a board diplomate by successfully completing the certification program of the recognized certification board in that area of practice. . 2) Hospital affiliation: Although you can have most of your problems taken care of at a good community hospital, for the really complex and difficult problems you want to go to these top academic centers. So the hospital appointment is very important. When you're in the hospital, it's not just who your doctor is, but the whole team and the equipment. 3) Experience: Have that doctor and that hospital done a lot of those procedures? There's a relationship between the number they've done and the success of the procedure. 4) Relationship: If this is a doctor you're going to be seeing for a long time, you want to make sure it's somebody you can trust and respect. If you don't, you might be reluctant to go see them and you might not feel confident in revealing information to them. Q: Many people get referrals to specialists from their primary-care physicians. Is that enough? A: Ask your primary-care physician, ``If someone in your family were to have this problem, is this the doctor you would go to? Or is this someone you're referring me to simply because they're in my plan?'' Historically, whatever the doctor said, we did without question. I think the attitudes are changing. Americans are becoming much better consumers when it comes to health care. For more information, visit www.castleconnolly.com. THE TINGLER: Cosmetic companies figured out how to create bee-stung lips bee-stung lips ruby red and puckered female mouth make-up (1920s). [Am. Hist.: Griffith, 198] See : Fads years ago with bright red lipstick, followed in later years by gooey See GUI. glosses, but DuWop's Lip Venom enhances your lips' natural color by increasing circulation and flushing them. You'll feel a tingly feeling and with it the slight scent and taste of cinnamon, wintergreen wintergreen or checkerberry, low evergreen plant (Gaultheria procumbens) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), native to sandy and acid woods (usually of evergreens) of E North America and frequently cultivated. and ginger. Lip Venom gloss is sold in a tiny vial for $15 at Nordstrom and it can be worn solo or with Shades of Venom lipstick, which also has a tingle. - Barbara De Witt NAIL IT: Urban Decay and Hard Candy, the nail polish companies famous for all those gritty urban shades of black Shades of Black is a community organisation in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England, formed after the Handsworth riots in the mid 1980s, extending from the 1990s to work in other deprived areas including Stechford. and gray-green, have changed their fashion stance and their formulas. Not only do they now have lots of colors, but they no longer use DBP DBP Diastolic Blood Pressure DBP Development Bank of the Philippines DBP Database Project (Visual Studio File Extension) DBP DNA Binding Protein DBP Disinfection Byproduct DBP Deutsche Bundespost (dibutyl phthalate), a common bonding agent possibly linked to birth defects birth defects, abnormalities in physical or mental structure or function that are present at birth. They range from minor to seriously deforming or life-threatening. A major defect of some type occurs in approximately 3% of all births. . ``The initial alarm about DBP came from a report by the Environmental Working Group,'' says Urban Decay spokeswoman Jessica Naddaff. ``Red flags were raised when elevated levels of DBP (were found) in reproductive-age women and when laboratory studies found links between DBP and birth defects.'' You can find Urban Decay nail polish ($9.50) and Hard Candy ($12) at Sephora and other specialty stores. - B.D. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) no caption (``America's Top Doctors'') (2) CONNOLLY (3) no caption (DuWop's Lip Venom) |
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