When looking for a good fertility clinic, there is way more to consider than proximity and insurance. You are about to embark on an intimate and emotional journey, and you’ll benefit from finding a clinic that meets your needs on a number of levels. Here are four important research tips to help you make an educated choice.  

Read up on Clinic Reviews and Success Rates

Fertility clinics should all be upfront about their success rates available both at SART and the CDC. While data doesn’t prove everything, a clinic’s success rates are a good way to gauge credibility when it comes to IVF procedures. It’s also helpful to get a sense of past patients experiences at the clinic. One resource that allows you to read reviews from past patients is Glow Pages.

Be warned: the clinics with the highest rates aren’t always the best ones! Some clinics can claim high success rates because they turn away patients who will likely have a more difficult time getting pregnant. Clinics can also provide success rates selectively, meaning the rate is not taking into account all of their patients. For this reason, it’s important to consider success rates alongside details about patient age, transferred embryos, and live birth rates that will help present a more complete picture of a clinic’s performance.

Make Sure the Doctors are Board Certified

The doctors at the clinic should all have both a general Obstetrics and Gynecology board certification from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as a subspecialty certification in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. That’s 4 years of medical school, plus 4 years of OB/Gyn training, plus 3 year of subspecialty training, plus oral and written exams. Seeing these certifications means that your doctor knows their stuff!

Go to Multiple Consultation Appointments

You will learn a lot just from stepping into a clinic, and you should be willing to check out at least two to compare and contrast the staff and the atmospheres.

While you’re at the clinic, here are some things to keep in mind:

• How you are welcomed to the clinic and who do you meet with?

• How thoroughly is treatment is explained, and is a treatment plan is discussed?

• What services does the clinic provide?

• Are other support services like counseling available?

• When is the clinic open and when is staff available (the correct answer is 7 days a week and at the least an answering service for after hours)?

• What diagnostic tests will the clinic perform for a new patient workup and what will these tests will reveal for treatment planning?

Ok, now factor in Location and Insurance Coverage

Even though you shouldn’t make a fertility clinic decision based only on location and insurance coverage, it’s likely that these are very important factors for you.

Reproductive interventions are very expensive, and you should have a thorough understanding of your insurance coverage before embarking on treatment. Assess your various payment options with each clinic and make projections about what your treatment will cost you at different clinics. Ask the finance department at your chosen clinic to give you an advance bill for your treatment path.

Finally, take location into account. There’s a reason this is last on the list: While there will definitely be a lot of appointments, this is intended to be a shorter term relationship. And, if it’s a toss up between a great clinic 20 minutes away and a runner-up clinic down the street, it’s worth it to go the extra mile for the best clinic.