Q. What is BoardCertified.com?
A. BoardCertified.com is an Internet Directory containing information on over 700,000 physicians and 6,000 hospitals. The primary purpose of this user-friendly website is to search for and identify physicians in any area of medical specialty by name or geography, as well as providing supporting information on procedures and treatments. Whether your search is defined by general geographical parameters, or as specific as a particular physician or hospital, you can find qualified medical professionals and facilities to help you make the most informed choice.
Q. What does it mean for a physician to be “Board Certified”?
A. Board Certification represents the pinnacle of achievement for physicians. Physicians can legally practice medicine by being licensed from the state or territory in which they intend to practice. Licensure is not specialty specific, but sets the minimum competence requirements to diagnose and treat patients. To become Board Certified, however, involves further examination and testing beyond the standard medical license and indicates a physician's expertise in and commitment to a particular medical specialty and/or subspecialty of medical practice.
While BoardCertified.com identifies a physician’s specific area of medical specialty, this website is not intended to be the only source for board certification verification. Each area of medical specialty maintains its own board which oversees physician credentialing within that particular area of medicine. Membership in medical associations and societies also exemplifies a physician’s elevated expertise in that given area.
Q. Can't consumers access physician information directly from the Physician's Medical Board or Association?
A. Absolutely, yes. However, most patients are not aware of the hierarchy of medical boards much less how they function. Instead, they prefer to perform general Internet searches to access this type of information. With over half a million pages of medical content that search engines like Google recognizes, this is often how consumers often arrive at BoardCertified.com.
Q. How do people find BoardCertified.com?
A. BoardCertified.com is programmed such that every page of content is read by search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and others. Because we have over 800,000 pages of content, there are an enormous number of keywords that attract visitors to BoardCertified.com as a result of general Internet searches. This type of content-driven programming is knows as Search Engine Optimization and our content is constantly being refreshed which allows the site to highly optimized.
Q. How long has BoardCertified.com been in existence?
A. The website domain name was Registered in 1999. The Physician Directory component of the site has been functional since March 2006.
Q. How and where does BoardCertified.com get their extensive data / information from?
A. Board Certified utilizes well over a dozen private and public sourced databases including the physicians themselves, Medical Colleges and Schools , medical directories, government sources and many others, to create a comprehensive Physician Database which is updated daily. As most of this information can be publically accessed, we can easily reproduce this information into our Physician Directory with the proper verifications and consent. Board Certified also makes every effort to attempt to contact each physician’s office so to verify their listing is 100% accurate. In addition, Board Certified has recently made changes to its functionality to allow physicians to access their own listings through the website at any time to amend, make changes, or update as necessary.
Q. Why can’t I find my doctor in search results?
A. If your physician is not board certified, they will likely not appear in search results on BoardCertified.com. While BoardCertified.com strives to keep all records updated and published to the site, in rare instances omissions of certified physicians may occur. We ask that you please email us at info@boardcertified.com and advise us of the physician’s full name and location (at least city and state) and telephone number if possible. We will then verify his information and credentials and get their record added as soon as possible.
Q. How can I use BoardCerified.com to help me locate a physician?
A. The primary purpose of this user-friendly website is to search for and identify physicians by name, geography, or medical specialty. This means you can search for a specific type of doctor in a certain city or zip code, and even define your distance parameters. This type of search will yield a Directory Result, or list of physicians. From there you can view additional detail on any physician by clicking on their name to open their Personal Web Profile Page which will usually reveal further information about this physician.
Q. How do I decide which Physician’s Specialty is the one I am looking for?
A. You can perform a general search by typing in the procedure you are interested in the “Keyword” box. Physicians include their primary medical specialty, subspecialty, and often the specific procedures they specialize in directly within their profile pages. Therefore, you can still yield an effective and appropriate search result without knowing the specific medical specialty beforehand.
Q. What does it mean to be certified as a medical specialist?
A. Physicians can legally practice medicine by being licensed by the state or territory in which they intend to practice. Licensure is not specialty specific, and only sets the minimum requirements to diagnose and treat patients. As a result, physicians can claim to be qualified to practice a medical specialty without any demonstration to an independent certifying body that they in fact possess the qualifications they claim. Boardcertified is one of the many reliable sources which indicate a physician’s advanced qualifications to practice within a medical specialty and are certified by an independent and objective medical specialty board.
While BoardCertified.com identifies a physician’s specific area of medical specialty, this website is not intended to be a primary source for board certification verification. Each area of medical specialty maintains its own board which oversees physician credentialing within that particular area of medicine. Membership in medical associations and societies also exemplify a physician’s elevated expertise in that given area.
To verify a particular physician’s board certification credentials, association or society affiliations, we encourage you to contact the appropriate group directly. Please find below the contact information and direct website links to various medical boards, associations, and affiliations below:
PLASTIC AND COSMETIC SURGERY BOARDS
The American Academy Of Cosmetic Surgery
737 N Michigan Ave., Ste 2100
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-981-6760
www.cosmeticsurgery.org
American Academyof Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
310 S Henry St
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-299-9291 or (800) 332-FACE
www.aafprs.org
American Board of Cosmetic Surgery
www.americanboardcosmeticsurgery.org
American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
115-C South Street Asaph Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-549-3223
www.abfprs.org
American Board of Plastic Surgery
Seven Penn Center
1635 Market St., Ste 400
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2204
Phone: 215-587-9322
www.abplsurg.org
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
444 E Algonquin Rd
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Phone: 847-228-9900
www.plasticsurgery.org
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
11081 Winners Cir
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
Phone: 800-364-2147 or 562-799-2356
www.surgery.org
American Board of Hair Restoration Surgeons
18525 S Torrance Ave
Lansing, IL 60438
Phone: 708-474-2600
www.abhrs.com
International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery
13 S 2nd St
Geneva, IL 60134
Phone: 800-444-2737 or 630-262-5399
www.ishrs.org
DERMATOLOGY BOARDS
American Academyof Dermatology
1350 I Street NW, Ste 870
Washington, DC 20005-4355
Phone: 202-842-3555
www.aad.org
American Academyof Aesthetic Medicine
645 – 375 Water Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 5C6
Phone: 604-681-5226
www.aaamed.org
American Board of Dermatology
Henry Ford Health System
1 Ford Place
Detroit, MI 48202-3450
Phone: 313- 874- 1088
www.abderm.org
American Dermatological Association
PO Box 554
Millwood, NY 10546
Phone: 914-923-8540
www.amer-derm-assn.org
American Society of Dermatology
PO Box 9013
Port St. Lucie, FL
Phone: 561-873-8335
www.asd.org
American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
5550 Meadowbrook Dr., Ste 120
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Phone: 847-956-0900
www.asds-net.org
American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery
2100 Stewart Ave., Ste 240
Wausau, WI 54401
Phone: 715-845-9283
www.aslms.org
American Osteopathic College of Dermatology
1501 E Illinois St
PO Box 7525
Kirksville, MO 63501
Phone: 800-449-2623 or 660-665-2184
www.aocd.org
OPHTHALMOLOGY
American Academyof Ophthalmology
PO Box 7424
San Francisco, CA 94120-7424
Phone: 415-561-8500
www.aao.org
American Board of Ophthalmology
111 Presidential Blvd., Ste 241
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004-1075
Phone: 610-664-1175
www.abop.org
American Osteopathic College of Ophthalmology
4764 Fishburg Rd., Ste F
Hyber Heights, OH 45424
Phone: 800-455-9404
www.aocoohns.org
American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
5841 Cedar Lake Rd., Ste 204
Minneapolis, MN 55416
Phone: 952-646-2038
www.asoprs.org
OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY
American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology
2915 Vine St
Dallas, TX 75204
Phone: 214-871-1619
www.abog.org
American Collegeof Obstetricians and Gynecologists
409 12th Street SW
PO Box 96920
Washington, DC 20090-6920
Phone: 202-638-5577
www.acog.org
American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society
409 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20024-2188
Phone: 202-863-1648
www.agosonline.org
Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
5550 Meadowbrook Dr
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Phone: 847-378-0500 or 888-566-2267
www.aans.org
American Board of Neurological Surgery
6550 Fannin Street, Ste 2139
Houston, TX 77030
Phone: 713-441-6015
www.abns.org
The Society of Neurological Surgeons
ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
American Academyof Orthopaedic Surgeons
6300 N River Rd
Rosemont, IL 60018-4262
Phone: 847-823-7186
www.aaos.org
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
400 Silver Cedar Court
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Phone: 919-929-7103
www.abos.org
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
6300 N River Rd., Ste 500
Rosemont, IL 60018
Phone: 847-292-4900
www.sportsmed.org
OTHER BOARDS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND SOCIETIES:
American Medical Association
515 N State Street
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: 800-621-8335
www.ama-assn.org
American Board of Allergy and Immunology
111 S Independence Mall E, Ste 701
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-592-9466
www.abai.org
American Board of Family Medicine
2228 Young Drive
Lexington, KY 40505
Phone: 859-269-5626 or 888-995-5700
www.the abfm.org
American Board of Internal Medicine
510 Walnut Street, Ste 1700
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-446-3500 or 800-441-2246
www.abim.org
American Board of Otlolaryngology
5615 Kirby Dr., Ste 600
Houston, TX 77005
Phone: 713-850-0399
www.aboto.org
American Board of Pediatrics
111 Silver Cedar Court
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Phone: 919-929-0461
www.abp.org
American Board of Surgery
1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Ste 860
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-568-4000
www.absurgery.org
