“Health and improving our quality of life are two of our most important concerns. Neither the crisis in [French] healthcare nor the recent medical scandals have significantly marred patients’ extraordinary trust in their doctors. But this trust is no longer blind. Anxious to protect their health, patients are now better informed, and thus more critical and less willing to passively accept their doctor’s diagnosis and the forms of treatment proposed. The large amount of medical information available, the tendency for self-medication and the frequency of consultations for second and third opinions have all served to add to a feeling of confusion. The goal of this book is to answer some of the many questions that are asked about patient-doctor relations and healthcare. It also aims at improving our understanding of our own symptoms so that we will be able to make more responsible and better-informed decisions. How should we go about choosing the doctor in whom we will entrust our health? What qualities should he or she have? How can we contribute to make our consultation more effective, in order to help our doctor make a better diagnosis and find the most appropriate solutions? How can we interpret signs and symptoms so as to decide when to seek medical advice, and when to deal with a health problem on our own? What can we do to prevent some of the more common diseases? What can we do to enhance the chances of success of a given treatment? What can we do, with our doctor’s help, to overcome as best we can some of the difficult moments in our lives or certain crises that can put our mental or physical health at risk? And when should we put an end to the relationship of trust with our doctor? This book will not replace your doctor, for only he or she will be able to make a diagnosis and propose an appropriate form of treatment. I simply hope that the answers and the information given here will enable you to communicate better with your doctor and to manage your healthcare in greater harmony, in conjunction with your medical practitioner.”
Pierre Khalifa

Pierre Khalifa, a specialist in internal medicine, has worked as a house doctor in Parisian hospitals and was formerly a clinical director at the Hôpital Cochin, in Paris. He is the author of a renowned therapeutic guide for professionals, published by Vernazobre-Gréco.