Choosing a physician isn’t necessarily easy, let alone selecting a provider for your child.
Dr. Lucretia Carter, a pediatrician at Tidelands Health Pediatrics in Myrtle Beach, says there are three guiding factors — the “three Ps” — parents can use to make the selection process more straightforward.

“You have to be able to build a rapport with your child’s physician,” says Dr. Carter. “And most importantly, he or she has to be someone whose decision-making you trust will represent your child’s interests.”
It’s important that both you and your child connect well with the physician, she says. This is particularly important as your child gets older.
At Tidelands Health, families can choose from a team of expert pediatricians and family medicine physicians who provide care at convenient locations across the region.

Does the physician’s approach to medicine mesh with your family’s health goals and values? Does he or she approach medicine in a traditional or holistic way — or somewhere in between? Is there an emphasis on prevention and wellness? Dr. Carter says the kind of health care that matters to you and your family should be reflected in the physician you choose for your child.
“It’s important to work with someone you feel understands you, your family and your family’s dynamic,” she says.

Dr. Carter spent years in solo practice, but she’s glad to be part of a health system like Tidelands Health, our region’s largest health care provider with four hospitals and more than 60 outpatient locations. She says it creates advantages for both the physician and patient in maintaining a continuum of care.
“If a patient is admitted into the hospital, I’m able to be part of their overall plan of care while they are there and after they leave,” she says. “For families, there’s no wondering if their physician’s plan of care will differ from what they’ve received in the hospital. Not only is the care consistent, but the patient also benefits from the medical support their physician receives from a larger team of providers within the health system.”