To begin your search for an AVM treatment center in the NJ area, ask for recommendations from your family, friends, or personal doctor. Many potential patients choose to go online to read reviews of AVM treatment centers, or visit an AVM treatment center’s website to get a better understanding of the services offered. Create a list of qualities a doctor should have that are important to you, such as compassionate, trustworthy, caring, or confident. Some extra resources available to potential patients include access to a nurse, healthcare professional, insurance benefits specialist or a patient financial advocate.
If your doctor has recommended treatment for your arteriovenous malformation (AVM), one of your next steps will be to find the right AVM treatment center in the tristate area. Chances are you don’t already have experience looking for and evaluating treatment centers, but that’s nothing to worry about. The following information will help get you started and will give you some tips to make your search easier.
AVM Treatment Centers in Northern NJ
To begin your search for your AVM treatment center, you first need to know where to look. Thankfully, there are a number of resources that are easily accessible which can help guide you in the right direction as you look for your doctor in northern NJ and NYC.
Ask Around
Begin to ask people you trust, such as friends and family, for an AVM treatment center recommendation in the NJ area. While they may not have direct experience themselves, you may find an indirect contact, such as a friend of a relative, who does have that experience and can offer a recommendation. Start to put out feelers and you may find yourself with a referral to a great NJ AVM treatment center. Several months after his Gamma Knife treatment, Charles reports significantly reduced pain, with everyday activities like showering, shaving and eating much more manageable. Follow-up MRIs will help monitor his progress, and the procedure can be repeated if necessary. Your personal doctor may also be able to offer you a list of recommended AVM treatment centers in the tri-state area. While this isn’t quite the same as a recommendation based on personal experience, it could give you a good jumping-off point to begin your research. Your insurance company may also be able to give you a list of AVM treatment centers in the NJ area.
Take Your Search Online
Many patients choose to go online to review their experiences, and these reviews can be a great resource as you research different NJ AVM treatment centers. As you read through other people’s thoughts about their care, you can keep an eye out for comments that reflect things that are important to you, which are discussed further on.
Another source of information will be AVM treatment center websites. Visiting these pages can give you more information on the services offered, the doctors within the practice and even patient testimonials. This can help you get a feel for the center before stepping foot inside and can help you decide whether or not you would like to schedule a consultation.
Qualities to Look For
As you are reading through online reviews of AVM treatment centers in northern NJ, it can be helpful to have a prepared list of qualities you find important. Even writing these down and keeping them handy can help you keep your eyes open for keywords and phrases as you do your research.
The qualities that matter most to you will be based on your own values and personal expectations of your AVM treatment center and the doctors there. However, some traits you may wish to keep in mind include:
- Experienced
- Compassionate
- Empathetic
- Trustworthy
- Caring
- Reassuring
- Confident
Consider Patient Resources
Finally, as you begin to look at individual AVM treatment centers in NJ and NYC, take into consideration what extra patient resources they have available to you. These are the “little things” that can make a world of difference as you are going through your treatment and recovery process that you might not have otherwise considered.
One such resource is access to a nurse or other healthcare professional, available after hours over the phone to address any questions or immediate concerns you may have. This could be particularly useful immediately following your procedure in case anything should arise that you would like to discuss when the office is not open.
A second valuable patient resource is the availability of a specialized employee, such as an insurance benefits specialist or patient financial advocate, whose job is to help you navigate the insurance system. Insurance can be notoriously confusing, and having the assistance of an expert, dedicated to helping you understand your personal insurance policy and how it relates to your procedure, can allow you to focus your energy on your procedure and recovery instead.
A Little Extra Effort Pays Off
Now that you have a few pointers to help you research AVM treatment centers in the tri-state area, you can begin your search for the practice that is right for you. To review, steps to take include:
- Make a list of qualities you find important in a doctor and an AVM treatment center.
- Ask friends, family members, and coworkers if they know anyone who has experience with an AVM treatment center in NJ or NYC.
- Read through online reviews by other AVM patients, referring to your list of important traits. Keep an eye out for keywords and phrases to hone in on an AVM treatment center that meets your “wish list” of criteria.
- Take a look at the websites of AVM treatment centers to get a sense of their doctors, experience, and values.
Putting in a little extra time and effort now will help ensure you find a doctor and treatment center that meets your needs as a patient. This will allow you to enjoy peace of mind as you are undergoing your treatment and then recovering, letting you focus your energy on the healing process.
