How to Talk to Your Doctor: An Insider's Guide to Navigating the System and Getting the Care You Deserve

An essential road map for our modern healthcare system—from preparing for appointments to navigating diagnoses, insurance, bias, and more—from practicing family physician and trusted national voice Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell

AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER

You often leave doctors' appointments wishing you had said more. Maybe you’ve been told your pain is “normal” or your symptoms are “just stress.” Maybe you’re the one managing appointments, medications, insurance calls, and the invisible mental load of your family’s health. In a complex, rushed, and inequitable system where patients still struggle to be heard, you need an insider strategy.

In How to Talk to Your Doctor, Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell offers something internet searches cannot: a clear system for protecting yourself inside healthcare. As a practicing family medicine physician and one of the small percentage of Black female doctors in the U.S., she understands how the system works. And as a patient who has been misdiagnosed and dismissed, she understands the vulnerability on the other side of the exam table. In this book, she shows you how to become the CMO (Chief Medical Officer) of your own health and your family’s care.

You will learn how to:

• Present symptoms clearly and confidently
• Recognize bias and medical gaslighting
• Prepare for appointments and make the most of limited time
• Speak up, be heard, and advocate for yourself and your family
• Navigate insurance, referrals, and unexpected bills
• Track your health and make informed decisions about your care

With practical frameworks and real-world scripts, this book helps you see the room the way a doctor does— and respond accordingly.