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If you live in Atlanta and are experiencing back pain and/or spine issues, the task of choosing a spine specialist in Atlanta is not necessarily an easy one. You want someone with knowledge and experience, someone who listens with compassion, someone with access to state-of-the-art techniques and equipment — someone you can trust. But how do you find this doctor amidst all the others, especially if you don’t know a lot of people? If you’re faced with the task of finding a good spine surgeon, here are some things to consider.
Board certification
A good starting point for vetting a possible spine specialist is to make sure the doctor is board certified. At websites like the American Board of Neurological Surgery or the American Board of Physician Specialties, you can check specific doctors by name, or if you don’t have a starting point yet, you can type in a search in Atlanta to get a list of board-certified spine doctors. When a physician is certified by one or more medical boards, it means they maintain certain standards of excellence to gain their recommendation. This gives you a layer of protection if you don’t know the doctor otherwise. All doctors at Polaris Spine and Neurosurgery Center are board certified.
Areas of expertise
Most physicians, spine surgeons included, are searchable online, either on their websites or at general sites like healthgrades.com. Many insurance website portals also have information on doctors in their network. Here you can see how long the physician has been practicing medicine, where they went to school, and specific areas of specialty. If you need a specific procedure done, it helps to find a specialist who has done a lot of those procedures successfully.
Patient reviews
Word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to find out if a doctor is trustworthy and competent. If you happen to know anyone in Atlanta who suffers from back or spine problems, ask about their spine doctor. Does the doctor listen? What is the doctor’s approach to treatment? Are they happy with their doctor? Another online resource, as mentioned before, is Healthgrades.com. You can search the doctor by name, read patient reviews and get an overall rating.
If you are looking for a trusted spine specialist in Atlanta, we invite you to consider Polaris Spine and Neurosurgery Center. Our physicians have many years of proven experience and are board certified, and we implement a full range of state-of-the-art treatment options to provide an individualized approach to care. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call us today at 404.256.2633.