Whether you think your feet are gorgeous and belong splashed on the cover of a magazine or horrible and hidden away, never to see the light of day, you need to take good care of them. One way you can do this is to find an excellent podiatrist and establish a strong relationship with him or her. But how do you know whether you have a winner? There are several things to look for when investigating podiatrists, and they include the following:



First, how reachable is the doctor? Do you need to make an appointment to call back later and make an appointment? Does he or she have an email address you can use when you have a question that is not pressing enough to be worth an interruption? Is there a doctor on call 24 hours a day for those times when you DO have an issue that requires immediate assistance? Do they have a good relationship with a local hospital in case your foot problem ends up needing their services as well?

Second, how is your podiatrist with technology? Does he or she have a web site with information and an easy way to make contact? Does the office use the latest technology, and have access to the most up to date machinery in the field? Are their necessary forms available online so that you do not need to make a separate trip or waste time sitting in the office filling them out?

Third, what about convenience? Is your podiatrist located in an office that is reasonably close to where you live or work? Do they have a FAX machine so that you can get them the documentation they need without having to drive? Are they located on the ground floor or at least reachable by elevator? After all, when you need someone to examine your feet, there is a great likelihood you might have trouble taking a few flights of stairs to get to the office.

Finally, there is that intangible something that every doctor and patient needs in order to have a good relationship: a compatible personality. Your neighbor may have a podiatrist that she adores, and you could go in for a consultation and find that the two of you are like oil and water. Think about what you need in a doctor as far as personality, whether you want someone who is direct and tells you exactly what you need to know, or someone who is softer and leads with the solutions rather than the problems.

With all the above tips, you should be able to find the perfect doctor to meet your needs.