July/August 2007
Best Doctors For Men
Physicians throughout Hampton Roads reveal their favorite referrals.
By Karen Haywood Queen
It's a common joke that men don't like to ask for directions—they'd rather, stubbornly figure it out themselves. The same could be said for fixing things around the house. When something breaks, men like to try repairing it on their own first before calling in the experts. But when their bodies are showing signs of becoming defective, being stubborn just doesn't cut it. Putting off a visit to the doctor could have much harsher consequences then a botched plumbing job.
All of the doctors HRM interviewed for our Best Doctors for Men article seem to agree on the same point—men don't go to the doctor enough. For many of them, the doctors say, the hardest health hurdle is admitting that they may need some medical intervention.
So, our Top Docs 2007 issue wants to make it easier for our male readers. We've compiled all sorts of resources to help you decide on a good doctor, determine when and how often you need to go in for a visit and what type of screenings you should be getting, and discover easy ways to prevent illnesses that are prominent in males.
This year, in order to provide a comprehensive number of choices, we've included two resource lists of recommended doctors. The "HRM Top Docs for Men" list reveals the results of our own physician survey. The second list comes from Best Doctors in America®, a professional peer survey company that maintains a database of 50,000 best doctors throughout the country.
Our coverage also includes men's health interviews with the winners in five specially selected categories—urology, urologic oncology, cardiology, psychiatry and general practice.
And the focus on men continues in this issue's HRM Health Special Section, with articles on the best foods for preventing prostate cancer, men's fitness tips for building up the body, and a column detailing on man's personal perspective on his fear of the doctor.
Lastly, as we always tell readers in regard to our Top Docs issues, although their colleagues respect the doctors on these lists, the listings are no guarantee of your satisfaction. Nor does absence from the list suggest anything against any physician. If you have a good relationship with the doctor or specialist you see, we encourage you to maintain those relationships—even if your doctor isn't on one of the lists.
Physicians who would like to participate in our survey next year but didn't receive a questionnaire, please send complete contact information to jessica@hrmag.com.
Ok, men—the tools for getting the job done are now at your fingertips. It's time to start building a better body. 
—The Editors
For a complete list of the Best Doctors in America® and Top Docs for Men, as well as helpful men's health and screening tips, see the July/August issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.
