Contents
Chapter 2: Unlearn What You Know about Being a Patient
Paradigm Shift: From Reaction to Prevention
Adopt Rituals: The Art of Being a Patient
Advocate for Yourself During Appointments
North Star: How to Choose a Primary Care Provider
Do Away with the Term “Bedside Manner”
Primary Care Models: The World Is Your Oyster
Get a Mental Healthcare Provider Before You Need One
Eyes and Teeth: The Medical Silos
Choosing an Advocate: Don’t Go to Appointments Alone
Your Smartphone as a Medical Device
Genetic Testing: Is It Worth It?
Stay on Nodding Terms with Reality
Chapter 6: Making Your Way into the System
Tricks of Scheduling Appointments
Making the Most of Your Time at Appointments
Chapter 7: How to Talk to Providers
Louis Washkansky and the Western
Stories: Giving Yourself Context
Don’t Go in Blind: There’s Not Enough Time
Part Three: Making the Most of Each Medical Encounter
Chapter 8: When Something Is Wrong
Creating an Elevator Complaint
Chapter 9: Navigating Touchy Territory
Should You Take the Full Course?
Chapter 10: How to Avoid a Wild-Goose Chase
Part Four: When It’s Chronic: Navigating Long-Term and Ongoing Medical Problems
When You Can’t Get a Diagnosis
Chapter 12: A Field Guide for Pain
Using Narrative to Communicate about Pain
Pain Management in an Opioid Epidemic
Part Five: When It’s an Emergency
Chapter 14: ER vs. Urgent Care vs. Wait Until Monday
Chapter 15: Am I Dying? (Emergency Preparedness, Extended)
Chapter 16: Are They Dying? (Pedestrian Emergencies)
In These Situations, Time Is of the Essence
Part Six: When You’re Having a Procedure
Chapter 17: Choosing If, Where, and Who
The Days Leading Up to a Procedure
The Importance of Follow-Up Care
Part Seven: When You’re in the Hospital
Chapter 18: Bring Your Own Pillow
Patient Mentality and the Spectrum of Assertiveness
Chapter 19: Culture, Checks, and Balances
Chapter 20: How to Be Vigilant
Wrong-Site, Wrong-Procedure, Wrong-Patient Errors
Part Eight: When You’re Not the Patient: Family Members, Partners, and Friends
How to Get Updates in the Hospital
Chapter 22: When It’s Your Kid
Finding and Working with a Pediatrician
When Should I Take My Kiddo to the ER?
Chapter 23: When You’re Getting Older (or When It’s Your Parent)
Questions Specific to Older Adult Patients
Mental Health Support: A Cavalry for Loneliness
Communicable Disease and Compromised Immunity
Familiarize Yourself with the Best Treatment Models
Part Nine: When You’re Not a Straight White Male
Chapter 24: The Female Patient
Gender Differences in Heart Attacks
Reproductive and Sexual Health
Chapter 25: When You’re Having a Baby
If You Feel Like Something Isn’t Right
Chapter 26: Health Advocacy for LGBTQ Patients
Chapter 27: Implicit Bias and Systemic Oppression
If You Don’t Speak the Language
If You Have a Substance-Abuse History
Part Ten: When You Have to Stand Up to the Industry
Chapter 28: How to Deal with Insurance
Getting Care When You’re Uninsured
Chapter 29: Big Pharma and the FDA
Drug Reps and Olive Garden: Conflicts of Interest
Evidence-Based or Marketing-Based?
CDC Pediatric Vaccination Schedule