Everyday Health: How to Find the Right Ulcerative Colitis Doctor for You

Everyday Health recently interviewed Gil Melmed, MD, director of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Research at Cedars-Sinai, about how to find a healthcare provider who can help effectively manage ulcerative colitis over time. There is no cure for ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the digestive tract and causes abdominal cramping, diarrhea, rectal bleeding and weight loss.

Melmed told Everyday Health a gastroenterologist who specializes in inflammatory bowel diseases can provide expert treatment for ulcerative colitis. They also can perform colonoscopies, “a very important tool for understanding, evaluating and assessing the state of colitis, which enables treatment decisions,” he said.

Melmed told Everyday Health that a primary care physician can recommend a gastroenterologist and that patients may want to do some research to find out the specialist’s experience treating the disease.

Because up to 30% of people with ulcerative colitis may need surgery to control their symptoms, Melmed said making a plan early on, just in case—such as finding a surgeon and medical center that specialize in bowel diseases and that are included in the patient’s insurance network—is important.

Melmed told Everyday Health patients should bring their medical records, including colonoscopy reports, imaging and medication history, to their first visit with a new physician.

“It can be tricky for a doctor to see new patients when the records aren’t available,” he said.

It also may be helpful to bring a list of questions to that first appointment, as well as a health history summary and a journal detailing symptoms.

Click here to read the complete article from Everyday Health.