How to choose your health professional
Choosing your health professional may not be something that you have considered before. The first step you might take is to see a GP (and often this step can be necessary to receive a referral), but it can be a good idea to consider all possibilities when it comes to your health.
The type of health professional that you see will affect the style of treatment you receive. For example, if you visit a GP for back pain, you might receive medication to treat your symptoms, a referral for a scan or a referral to see a specialist . Alternatively, if you visit a chiropractor you may receive a spinal manipulation if appropriate, a physiotherapist may give you exercises to do at home, a Chinese medicine practitioner may use acupuncture. The same symptoms will be treated in different ways depending on the type of practitioner you see.
It is important to find a qualified practitioner, that you trust and is in effective for you. With day to day health and wellbeing it is also important to think about how the root causes can be addressed alongside any symptoms. You can ask your health practitioner to support you with this.
There are several things to think about when you’re looking for a health professional:
- the service location
- the services they offer
- their opening hours
- the language they speak
- how you can pay for your appointment
To search for a health professional, you can visit the websites of medical colleges and associations, such as:
- Australasian College of Dermatologists
- Australian Clinical Psychology Association
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
You can also use the healthdirect service finder to search for health professionals near you.
Ensure that any health professional you see is qualified. To check this, you can visit:
You can also find out if a health professional has been disciplined, and why: