Imagine that you, your spouse, and your two children move to a brand new city. Perhaps a job has placed you there. Maybe an older family member has fallen ill, and you needed to relocate to tend to them. Or, it’s possible that you and the family just needed a change of scenery. Now, imagine, that you find yourself sick with a raging sinus infection. You try to treat it yourself with over the counter medication, but then your children catch your bug. It gets so bad that they have to miss a day of school. Luckily, it’s a Friday, giving you Saturday and Sunday to come up with a game plan to get the family well. The problem is, they don’t have a doctor yet. And, since you’re in a new city, you don’t really have anyone to ask opinions of. You then turn to a trusty new tool known as the internet. A doctor review site can be a very helpful tool in helping you choose a medical care provider, including a pediatrician.Being that you want the absolute best health care for your kids, you might find yourself hesitant to use a doctor review site to help you find a doctor. However, sometimes circumstances may not leave you with too many other options. And secondly, it beats standing outside of a practitioners office with a clip board, polling patients about their experiences. First and foremost, you’ll want to choose the most credible website offering doctor reviews. Many of them are free, some of them you may have to pay a fee for. There is nothing that says that a pay site is going to give you better or worse information, so it’s up to you to choose. Take a look at a handful of them, and see which ones seem the most credible and informed. Choosing a doctor that your children are going to see can be a stressful process. When browsing a doctor’s review, it’s important that you don’t get discouraged if you read something negative. When it comes down to it, no matter how many years of schooling and residency a doctor goes through, a person is still a person, and people will find things to disagree on. If one patient feels that their child was misdiagnosed regarding a minor issue, what’s to stop them from going on the internet and writing a scathing review about the doctor? It’s important that you take anything you read with a grain of salt. However, you’re also (clearly) not going to want to choose a doctor that has an abundance of negative feedback. Try to read every review of a doctor that you can, and make a comfortable decision. Also, make sure to carefully read the reasons why a person gave a bad review. Was the doctor cold-hearted and outright mean to the reviewer’s child? Or was the reviewer upset because the doctor didn’t enter the room wearing a clown nose and holding candy? It’s important to evaluate your child, and try to determine what his needs are. A clown nose can be the funniest or the scariest thing in the world to your little one. On the same note, you also want to make sure that you don’t make a decision based on one astoundingly positive review. You may read a review that tells a touching tale about how a doctor casually noticed and insisted treatment of something that could have turned into deadly cancer if left alone, essentially saving a child’s life. If you are sold on this one article, however, you could miss the next one that addresses the fact that the very same doctor missed an early warning sign of a disease that has since left the child in a wheelchair. While these are both very extreme cases, the point is to research thoroughly before making a decision.Aside from obtaining information about a doctor’s demeanor and competence, a doctor review site can also give you more technical information, such as if a doctor is taking new patients, and what sort of insurance plans his practice receives payment from. When it comes down to it though, the most important part is knowing that your child is in good hands when it comes to health care, and these websites can be very helpful. Remember though, don’t kick yourself if the doctor you choose doesn’t amaze you when you see him in person. Chances are, he can at least get you some antibiotics for your kids to get well, and you can choose to see a new doctor next time. You can get the children back to school on Monday, and don’t worry, they’ll thank you later.