Question: How Do I Find a Celiac Disease Doctor?
Answer: If you need to find a doctor who's familiar with the diagnosis and management of patients with celiac disease, you have several options.
- Ask members of a local celiac support group who they would recommend, and why. If you don't know which groups meet near you, refer to our list of celiac support groups in the U.S. and Canada, and either visit their websites or call them to ask whether there are chapters in your region. For other countries, see our list of celiac societies around the world.
- Call one of the major celiac disease centers (start with the one nearest where you live) and ask whether they can recommend a doctor in your area. If you don't know which center is closest to you, refer to our list of U.S. hospitals with celiac disease clinics. If you live outside the U.S. and need help finding a medical center with doctors who specialize in celiac disease, post a note in the forum or write to me.
- If someone has recommended a good celiac disease doctor who does not participate in your insurance plan, ask that doctor to recommend someone for you. He may even have a colleague in the same practice who can see you.
- If you have no choice but to pick a physician without anyone's personal recommendation, board-certified pediatricians and gastroenterologists are probably the doctors most likely to be up-to-date on celiac disease. Turn to either the American Gastroenterological Association (if the patient is an adult) or the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (if the patient is a child). Both of these groups have family and/or patient resource sections on their websites, with tools for finding a doctor in your area.
