I was chatted with my producer Jessica recently and we got to talking about her daughter

who's 12 and wants to remove a small birthmark on her cheek.

So now Jessica's researching options, she's trying to figure out where to take her daughter

and she's thinking should she go with the plastic surgeon at the local hospital who

trained at a foreign medical school and takes her insurance?

Or maybe she should try the cosmetic surgeon in the nearest city about an hour and a half

away who did his residency at the fancy Cleveland Clinic and specializes in facelifts and tummy

tucks.

Anyway, it's a big decision and after all this is her daughter's face so any scar could

be there for life.

So what should Jessica do?

You know, maybe there's actually some other better doctor out there if she just has a

bit more research, asks a few more questions.

Jessica's conundrum got me thinking, we all have some version of this struggle to choose

a doctor, sometimes it's about finding a new primary care physician in the town we just

move to.

Other times it's about treating a life-threatening cancer.

Whatever the case is, it's important.

We're talking about our health here, our bodies, our minds, our lives.

Well, luckily a lot of researchers have had the same questions and while some of their

findings might confirm what we'd expect, not all of them do.

From the Freakonomics Radio Network, this is Freakonomics MD.

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