Moving to a new town, switching insurance carriers, or merely looking for a specialized practitioner can make selecting a new doctor hard enough. But when it comes to finding a doctor of color the search can be even more tedious. BlackDoctor.org, an online healthcare database that includes referrals to black doctors nationwide, as well as interactive tools to help users assess and learn more about ailments, seeks to make finding a doctor a little bit easier.
“Not only did we need a referral service, but also a resource that provided culturally accurate health solutions for African Americans,†says Reginald Ware, who founded the site in 2005 after a tedious process of looking for a black doctor while in Chicago.
The founder of “Heart and Soul” health and fitness magazine, Ware cautions against underestimating the need for black doctors. “Our health needs are different [from the general public]. When look you look at prostate and colon cancer, the mainstream says men need to get screened at age 50, but African American men need to get screened at age 40.â€
Along with finding a black doctor in your area, the interactive site includes a symptoms checker to help visitors understand and gauge probable ailments and an online meal planner. The tools are free but some require visitors to sign in using an email address.
The Website also includes a bloggers corner, which features experts in the areas of fitness, healthy eating, and healthy lifestyle habits.