PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

You can use all the strategies here to track down the best doctor around, but if she's not accepting new patients or doesn't take your health insurance, her qualifications won't matter.

A few practicalities to keep in mind before drawing up a short list:

Insurance and fees. First, is she on your plan? If not, think carefully about whether you can afford to pay out of pocket. If you do decide to go out-of-network or see a physician who does not take insurance, ask about fees beforehand, so you're not stuck with a staggering bill.

Location. "A good rule of thumb is to choose a doctor whose office is midway between your home and office, so you can easily get there from either place," says Mary Frank, M.D., of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Also consider whether there's parking nearby and how accessible the office is by public transportation.

Office hours. If you work nine to five and don't have a lot of flexibility in your schedule, finding a doctor who has occasional evening or Saturday hours can be a godsend.

Off-hours coverage. Find out what kind of on-call schedule and emergency coverage the doctor has. No one person can ever be available around the clock, of course, but you don't want the ER to be your only option if you have a blinding migraine on Christmas morning.

Accessibility. How does the doctor handle phone calls from patients? Can you leave a voice-mail message for her, or do you have to explain the intimate details of your situation to the person at the front desk? How quickly are calls returned? Is there an advice nurse available at a particular time each day? Is the doctor reachable via e-mail?

Hospital privileges. This is especially important if you have a health condition that might require in-patient treatment. In general, look for a doctor with admitting privileges at a university hospital or a major medical center. These are more likely to have the best equipment and a top-notch staff.

Front office. Don't settle for anything but a friendly, professional, and competent office staff. They should answer the phone rather than forcing you to navigate through voice mail, deal with inquiries efficiently, and quickly relay important information to and from the doctor. If you already know a patient in the practice, ask her how well the office runs.

Wait times. Ask how long patients typically wait for appointments. If the office admits to regular backups of a half hour or more, you may want to keep searching. (Then again, says nurse and author Patricia Carroll, some doctors run late because they spend as much time as needed with each patient. In that case, you may decide the doctor is worth the wait.)

Appointments. Find out how far in advance they book up. A wait of a week or so for a non-urgent visit is understandable; a six-week wait isn't. Finally, ask if the practice holds certain slots open every day for acute care. If you come down with a nasty case of strep throat on Tuesday, you don't want to hear that the doctor can see you on Friday.