The Questions Patients Actually Ask — and Why I Wrote a Book About Them
My new book, Ask Your Family Doctor: Practical Guidance for Healthy Living, is my attempt to share the answers I give to patients every day. It’s the conversation I could have with every one who is not a patient. My in-person patients get at least some of this at each visit. But even long-term patients may learn something about their health from answers to other patients’ questions that I have worked into the book.
Where the book came from
I didn’t set out to write a medical encyclopedia. There are plenty of those, and there is certainly no shortage of “information” on the internet — some of it good, much of it not, and almost none of it tailored to you.
What patients have consistently needed isn’t more information. It’s perspective: a way to understand what they’re reading, know which questions are worth asking, and feel prepared rather than overwhelmed when they walk into an exam room. That’s the gap this book tries to fill. It grew directly out of the questions I’ve been asked across four decades of practice, organized into the topics that come up again and again. 
What’s inside
The book covers the practical territory of everyday health:
- Prevention and healthy living — the habits that actually move the needle
- Understanding common symptoms, and learning when to worry and when not to
- Medications: what to ask, what to watch for, how to keep track
- Laboratory testing and screening — how to read your results and what they mean
- Managing chronic conditions over time
- Navigating today’s healthcare system without getting lost in it
Each chapter closes with a brief “Doctor’s Note” — a plain-language summary of the single most important takeaway. If you remember nothing else from a chapter, remember that.
A small taste: getting more from your next visit
You don’t need my book to start doing this, so let me offer it here. The patients who get the most out of an appointment tend to do three things before they arrive:
- Write down their top concern first. If you have several, lead with the one that worries you most — don’t save it for the doorway.
- Bring an accurate medication list, including supplements and over-the-counter items. This single habit prevents more problems than almost anything else.
- Come with questions written down. “What are we watching for?” and “What would make this an emergency?” are two of the most useful questions you can ask about almost any condition.
That’s the spirit of the whole book: small, practical steps that help you become an informed partner in your own care.
A note to my colleagues
Although I wrote this primarily for patients and families, I’ve heard from clinicians, trainees, and health educators that it’s useful in their work too. Most of us who practice medicine are, at one point or another, also patients — or the family member sitting anxiously in the waiting room. This book is written with that shared experience in mind.
Where to find it
Ask Your Family Doctor: Practical Guidance for Healthy Living is available now in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon, with hardcover and Audible editions to follow.
If you read it and find it helpful, a brief review means a great deal — it’s how other readers find the book.
Clear advice for before, during, and after your doctor’s visit.
— David Schechter, MD
