Finding the Right Doctor for Cardioversion

If you plan to have cardioversion for an abnormal heartbeat, you’ll want a highly qualified cardiologist to perform the procedure. How do you find the best cardiologist who is right for you? Here are important factors to keep in mind. 

Find a cardiologist who:

• Is board certified in cardiology or a subspecialty of cardiology and who specializes in cardioversion
• Has experience treating patients with your specific condition
• Practices at a hospital known to have high-quality outcomes in cardioversion or cardiology procedures in general 
• Accepts your insurance
• You are comfortable talking with and who fully answers your questions

Here are five steps to finding the best cardiologist to perform your cardioversion.

Start by creating a list of potential cardiologists. Ask your family, friends, and other healthcare providers for recommendations. If you’re starting without any referrals, or you’re looking for more options, search for cardiologists on Healthgrades.com. 

Healthgrades.com shows patient satisfaction ratings, which give you insight into how your own experience might be with the doctor. Patients rate the doctor and the doctor’s medical practice, and say if they would recommend the doctor to family and friends.

Take time to research the doctors’ credentials and experience. Look for a doctor who is board certified in cardiology (cardiovascular disease) and performs cardioversion on a regular basis. The more experience a doctor has treating your condition or performing cardioversion, the better your results are likely to be. 

Also, confirm that the doctor is in good standing with state and federal agencies and that he or she has no history of malpractice claims or disciplinary actions. 

You’ll find all this information on Healthgrades.com.

You will have cardioversion in a hospital. Cardiac procedures often require a team of highly skilled and experienced healthcare providers. Even though you may go home the same day, take a look at the quality of cardiac care at the hospital where your cardiologist wants to perform the procedure. 

Find out where the cardiologists on your list can treat patients; then research those hospitals on Healthgrades.com. Healthgrades evaluates hospitals on mortality and complication rates of patients while in the hospital for a range of common procedures, including cardiac procedures. 

Ideally you should find a hospital in your area that performs better than expected (5-stars) for cardiac procedures. Then find a doctor who can admit and treat patients at this hospital. Avoid hospitals with lower than expected (1 star) results.

If a particular hospital falls short in quality, ask the cardiologist if he or she performs cardioversion at other facilities. Otherwise, find a doctor who treats patients at a hospital likely to offer you the best possible outcome.

As you narrow down your list of cardiologists, call each doctor’s office and ask for a consult appointment to meet and interview the doctor. 

• Ask yourself if you are comfortable talking with the doctor. 
• Does he or she respect your opinions and answer your questions in a way you understand? 

Here are some questions to ask the doctor:

• Do you typically treat patients like me?
• How many cardioversions have you performed?
• What results do you usually see? Do you have outcomes data to share?
• How frequently do you encounter complications from the procedure? 
• What do you do to avoid complications or correct them if they occur?

Your insurance coverage is a practical matter. To receive the most insurance benefits and pay the least out-of-pocket for your procedure, you need to choose a doctor that participates in your plan. 

But keep in mind, just because a doctor participates in your insurance plan doesn’t mean he or she is a high-quality doctor. You still need to consider the doctor’s experience and expertise.