Choosing a women’s health provider that’s right for you can make or break the future of your health. That sounds like an exaggeration, and yet, when women don’t trust, like, or feel comfortable with their healthcare providers, they’re less likely to schedule annual wellness exams or check in when they have a minor concern.

Finding and choosing a women’s health provider you trust increases the likelihood of you getting the proactive care required for general well-being (including mental and emotional wellness) and catching early red flags of potential illness or disease.

8 Tips to Finding a Women’s Healthcare Provider You Trust

Here are eight tips for finding the right women’s clinic for you.

1. Ask women you trust for recommendations

Word-of-mouth is our favorite way to welcome new patients. Check in with female friends, neighbors, and colleagues with similar values to your own. Who do they visit? Which healthcare providers do they trust the most? Do they have a similar health history?

For example, if you have endometriosis or PCOS, you’ll want to find an OB/GYN who is conscientious about treating those conditions and has an intuitive sense of what you need. If you know someone with a similar health concern, they may have an excellent reference for you.

2. They have excellent reviews

Reviews are a tricky thing. Nowadays, you never know whether a review is authentic or paid for by a marketing agency. However, if you read all of a provider’s reviews (and the responses), you’ll get an idea about the type of care you’ll receive and insight into specific practitioners.

We are especially proud of the reviews we receive from women who didn’t have good experiences elsewhere and then found their home with us.

3. Think about whether gender matters

Does the gender of your healthcare provider matter to you? Many women feel most comfortable sharing sensitive information with female healthcare providers. Others don’t care whether their OB/GYN is female or male. If you prefer to be seen by women, look for by-women-for-women clinics or filter provider search results by gender (available in most health insurance search options).

The flip side of this coin is that trans and gender-diverse patients deserve doctors, nurses, and care providers who understand the nuances of their healthcare needs. Thus, members of the LGBTQ+ community should seek healthcare providers who understand their needs and are proud to serve them.

4. They respect your values

The ideal is to find a doctor who shares your values. However, the next best thing is to find a physician who respects your feelings and beliefs, even if they differ from the doctor’s recommendations. You should never feel bullied, pressured, or spoken down to in a healthcare provider’s office. If that happens to you, it’s time to search for someone new.

5. You trust them enough to tell them anything

Your healthcare depends on transparency. This means you should feel comfortable (even if it’s sometimes embarrassing) telling your doctor everything. As OB/GYNs, we understand we get up-close-and-personal, privy to your most personal and private details.

This is one of the reasons annual wellness visits are so important; they help build the familiarity and rapport that allow you to tell and ask your GYN absolutely anything – without fear of judgment, shaming, or embarrassment.

6. They specialize in first-time/adolescent appointments

If this is your daughter’s first visit to the OB/GYN, it’s critical that you find a women’s clinic (or physician) that specializes in adolescents/teens. That first appointment sets the tone for how your daughter experiences OB/GYNs and reproductive healthcare.

A first visit to the OB/GYN should be warm, friendly, and non-invasive. The exceptions are for teens that may have an STD, are pregnant, or experiencing symptoms. In that case, we may need to do an internal exam, but we will do it with the utmost patience, warmth, and gentleness to build a trusting relationship.

Plus, anyone specializing in reproductive care for young people is bound to be equally attentive, supportive, and caring with women of all ages.

7. They care equitably for women choosing not to have children (and of all ages)

We’ve listened to many patients who experienced less-than-attentive care because they chose not to have children. They feel like their annual exams are more like an assembly-line experience, allowing providers to spend “real time” with the women planning to have babies, are pregnant, or are coming for postnatal checkups.

The best women’s clinics provide equitable care to patients of all ages and stages of life and with respect to any and all choices. This includes:

• Menopause and post-menopause.
• Women who’ve never had children.
• Women who choose not to have children.
• Trans- and gender-diverse patients.
• Patients who are pre-teen to 100.

We hope to forge lifelong relationships with our patients, and patients should be in the market for healthcare providers they trust for a lifetime too!

8. Affiliated with your insurance provider & preferred hospitals

Finally, search for women’s clinics in your insurance provider’s network to keep things as affordable as possible. Also, vetting by your health insurance providers is a guarantee of a healthcare provider’s education, licensures, and professional affiliations.

Having an affiliation with your preferred hospital(s) is also a bonus, ensuring your doctor can communicate seamlessly with other specialists or surgeons if necessary.

Give Women’s Health Associates a Try!

Are you searching for a new women’s health provider? We hope you’ll give Women’s Health Associates a try. As Kansas City and Overland Park’s leading all-female OB/GYN medical practice, we pride ourselves on providing our patients with the highest level of personal and professional care. We’ll help you experience what it’s like to find a women’s healthcare provider that’s right for you. Contact us to schedule your first appointment.