Helpful tips

We know how important it is to find a doctor who is right for you. Your doctor will focus on keeping you healthy, by arranging appropriate screening tests, and preventive services. When you experience illness or injury, your doctor will help you decide what treatment options are best and will coordinate your medical care.

You can choose a physician or nurse practitioner as your primary care doctor. Over time, you and your doctor can get to know and trust each other.

Depending on your age and gender, you can select a doctor from Adult Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology (Ob/Gyn), or Pediatrics. We encourage women who are between the ages of 18 and 64 to have both an Ob/Gyn doctor in addition to an Adult Medicine doctor.

Most members choose a doctor near their home or work. Occasionally, members choose doctors at other Kaiser Permanente facilities where a particular doctor meets their individual needs. With Choose Your Doctor you can get information about available doctors by zip code. You can also get a list of available doctors at the Kaiser Permanente facility of your choice.

Many people feel more comfortable with doctors of one gender or the other. Some members prefer to communicate in their native language. Choose Your Doctor helps you get information about each doctor's gender and any additional languages they speak.

We encourage you to ask friends or co-workers for recommendations. You may also want to ask other doctors you see at Kaiser Permanente. Regardless of who you ask, it's a good idea to ask for more than one name in case some personal doctors are not able to accept new patients at that time.

Adult Medicine: Doctors in Adult Medicine are trained in either the specialty of Internal Medicine or Family Medicine. In some of our medical facilities, those trained in Family Medicine can provide general gynecologic care to women including pap tests, birth control, breast exams and assistance dealing with issues of menopause.

Obstetrics/Gynecology: Doctors in Obstetrics/Gynecology provide comprehensive gynecologic and obstetric care. We encourage all women (between the ages of 18 and 64) to have either a doctor in Obstetrics/Gynecology and Adult Medicine, or a Family Medicine physician who also provides gynecologic care.

Pediatrics: Doctors in this specialty provide comprehensive care to children up to the age of 18.

If you prefer, you can select a nurse practitioner at some of our medical facilities. These health care professionals work under physician supervision and have received advanced training as primary care clinicians.

We recommend that your personal physician be able to assist and support your broad healthcare needs and interests. In addition, your personal physician will refer and collaborate with specialists involved in your care to ensure that all of your health issues are taken into account.

If you're having trouble or would prefer to speak with someone about choosing your doctor, call our Member Outreach department at the facility of your choice: Member Outreach Phone Numbers.