Consult Reference Sources
The Directory of Physicians in the United States and the Official American Board of Medical Specialties Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists are available at many libraries. These books don't recommend individual doctors but they do provide a list of doctors you may want to consider. MedlinePlus, a website from the National Library of Medicine, has a comprehensive list of directories (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directories.html) which may also be helpful.
Choose a "Board Certified" Doctor
Doctors who are board certified have extra training after regular medical school. They also have passed an exam certifying their expertise in specialty areas. Examples of specialty areas are general internal medicine, family medicine, geriatrics, gynecology, and orthopedics. Board certification is one way to learn about a doctor's medical expertise; it doesn't tell you about the doctor's communication skills. There are plenty of other Internet resources too—for example, you can find doctors through the American Medical Association's website at http://www.ama-assn.org/ (click on "Doctor Finder"). For a list of doctors who participate in Medicare, visit http://www.medicare.gov/ (click on "Search Tools" then "Find a Doctor"). WebMD also provides a list of doctors at http://webmd.com/ (click on "Find a Doctor").