Litigation Management

Medical Record Acquisition: Locating Healthcare Providers (Part II)

By:	Elizabeth B. Juliano
	Karen A. Ness

As discussed in Part I of "Locating Healthcare Providers" (The M.I.M. Reporter, Volume I, Number 2), media for identifying sources of medical records are varied and numerous. Heretofore, having detailed primarily hard copy references, CD-ROM and Internet resources will now be reviewed. For those individuals who have Internet access, the "information highway" can provide a plethora of sites documenting the names and addresses of physicians, hospitals, medical centers, clinics, and other healthcare providers. If Internet access is not an option, computerized CD-ROM's provide a viable alternative.

CD-ROM's

CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory or Media) technology is a system for recording, storing, and retrieving volumes of information in compact disc format that can then be read using an optical drive. The CD-ROM, The Directory of Physicians in the United States (approximate cost, $695), published by the American Medical Association (1-800-621-8335) is a must for those entrusted with obtaining claimants' medical records. A current edition of this CD contains all licensed, practicing, and retired physicians in the U.S. After inserting the compact disc into the CD-ROM drive of a PC, one simply follows directions for accessing physician information. Information is categorized by the physician's name, state and date of licensure, address, area of specialty, and retirement date, if pertinent. The information can be "wildcarded" if only a small amount of information is available to the researcher. For example, if the interrogatory indicates, "treated by Dr. Jeff Burns? in 1972," the CD database could be searched using an asterisk if one is unsure of the spelling or the full name. Perhaps the name is "Jeffrey Byrnes" or "Jeffery Burnes." In this situation the search criteria may look similar to this--B*rn*s, Jeff*y--and the system will search for all vowels within the last name, as well as Jeffrey or Jeffery within the first name. The same can be accomplished if only a partial address is available. The program will present a list of choices, at which time the paralegal may wish to contact several physicians for information regarding the claimant.

Another excellent tool is the 575,000 Physicians & Surgeons directory on CD-ROM (approximate cost, $595), produced by American Medical Information, Inc., a division of American Business Information, Inc. (now known as infoUSA, 1-800-624-0076). This database also provides physician information in an easily searchable format. American Business Information, Inc. (infoUSA) additionally publishes the 16 Million Businesses Phone Book (approximately $30) on CD-ROM on which searches for healthcare facilities and physicians can be conducted.

The Internet

The ultimate source for locating healthcare provider information is the Internet, a cooperative public network of shared information. With little experience, one can learn to navigate the World Wide Web (www) in the quest for information needed in acquiring medical documents.

Three excellent, no cost web sites are available for locating physicians and surgeons. The first of these resources is the American Medical Association's web site: www.ama-assn.com. On the home page of the AMA is a category identified as DOCTORFIND. Upon entering DOCTORFIND, the database may be searched by the physician name or specialty. An option is provided for a "sounds like" in the event of a misspelling on an interrogatory. Preliminary search results consist of the physician's name, specialty, and city/state. However, the physician's name is hypertexted so that additional information may be gleaned, including telephone and facsimile numbers, AMA membership status, primary and secondary specialty, medical school attended, year of graduation, residency training information, board certification status, office hours, and insurance plans accepted. In a situation where the medical records may need to be obtained in person, there is a map included identifying the location of the physician's office. This database within the AMA web pages contains information on Medical Doctors (MD) and Doctors of Osteopathy (DO).

The second web site available for locating healthcare providers is www.doctorsoncall.com. This site may be searched by physician name with the results providing the full name, city/state, and telephone number. Fields within the database for specialty and email address are seldom populated.

One of the most expedient means of locating a healthcare provider, physician, clinic, hospital, or medical center is the use of a search engine. There are a number of search engines available on the Internet, many of which are worth bookmarking for future reference:

http://altavista.digital.com
www.hotbot.com
www.metafind.com
www.yahoo.com
www.dogpile.com

In addition, entering http://home.netscape.com/escapes/search presents the viewer with a list of options for search engines such as Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, and LookSmart.

As with the usage of hard copy references, protocols must be established when using the Internet as a resource for obtaining provider information. Experience gained in navigating the Internet will allow for evermore expeditious and thorough searching in the record acquisition process.

Return back to articles page.