Illustrations by John Kachik

Who picks the doctors?
The doctors are selected through a peer-review survey. The theory is that medical professionals are best qualified to judge medical professionals. To select the doctors, PHOENIX magazine randomly surveys 5,000 Valley physicians, including both M.D.s (medical doctors) and D.O.s (osteopathic doctors). The surveys ask the doctors to nominate those doctors who, in their judgment, are the best in their field and related fields.

Does PHOENIX magazine check out all of the doctors on the list?
Yes. Once the list is compiled, PHOENIX magazine’s fact-checkers verify the doctors’ names, addresses, phone numbers and specialties. In addition, each name is checked against the state’s medical boards to determine if the doctor has been convicted of or has settled in a malpractice lawsuit, or has faced other disciplinary actions. Those that have are removed from the list.

Why not ask patients to rate the best doctors?
Every year we get several calls asking this question, and the simple answer is that patients generally lack the medical expertise to judge a doctor’s qualifications. Should we ever do a ranking based solely on bedside manner, querying patients might be an option.

My doctor says he was left off the list because he doesn’t advertise in PHOENIX magazine. Is that true?
Absolutely not. Like any credible publication, PHOENIX magazine’s editorial content is not dictated by who advertises. There are cases, however, when a doctor on the list also has an ad in the magazine, but that’s merely coincidence. Doctors – as well as our sales representatives – have no advance knowledge of whether they’ve made the list. Like you, they have to wait until the magazine is published to find out who has made the list.

If my doctor’s not on the list, does that mean he/she is not a good doctor?
No. Although peer-review is considered the most reliable methodology, it’s not perfect. To be recognized by a large number of peers, it stands to reason that a doctor would have to have practiced in the Valley for several years. There are many newcomers who are undoubtedly excellent physicians but haven’t yet gained widespread recognition. In addition, there are many doctors in small practices or outlying areas who, likewise, haven’t gained that widespread recognition.

Don’t the same doctors make the list every year?
Many doctors do, but there are many new doctors on the list each year, too. Because the established, well-known doctors are exactly that – established and well known – the list might favor that kind of physician. Given the importance of choosing a doctor, however, PHOENIX views that as a healthy bias.

My doctor was on the list last year but isn’t there this year. What does that mean?
It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and it certainly shouldn’t be viewed as evidence of a drop-off in the doctor’s effectiveness. Getting on the list once doesn’t guarantee that a doctor will be on the list indefinitely – the selection process begins anew each year.

Each year you do short feature profiles on a handful of doctors. How do you choose which ones to profile?
Essentially, we “throw a dart at the map.” Because every doctor on the list is considered among the best in the Valley, every doctor is worthy of being profiled. Obviously, it would be impossible to profile all of them, so we randomly select a handful each year.

Why do you include podiatrists on the list?
We get this question a lot from the medical community, and it’s a good one. Although it’s true that podiatrists aren’t M.D.s, we’ve gotten a lot of requests to include them over the years. The bottom line is this: Top Doctors is intended to provide a service to our readers, and including podiatrists is yet another service.

For more information about any of the physicians listed here, contact the Arizona Medical Board (azmd.gov) or the Arizona Board of Osteophathic Examiners (azosteoboard.org).