The five topics
- Symptoms & finding care. How to find a primary care doctor who is accepting new patients
Find a primary care clinician who is taking new patients, and get care while you wait. - Conditions & test results. What your eGFR kidney test result means
Understand what common test results, starting with the eGFR kidney test, can and cannot tell you. - Medicines & treatment choices. Generic versus brand-name medicines: what is the same, what can differ, and what to ask
Know what is the same and what can differ between generic and brand-name medicines, and what to ask. - Mental health & emotional wellbeing. How to find a therapist you can afford
Find counseling or therapy you can afford, with or without insurance. - Prevention & healthy aging. null (Guide in preparation)
Use the preventive care your coverage includes, and understand why a visit called free can still bring a bill.
Most health questions start before anyone reaches an exam room. Who will see me as a new patient? What does this number on my lab report mean? Is the cheaper version of my medicine really the same? These guides answer questions like these in plain language, list their sources and show when those sources were checked, so you can walk into an appointment knowing what to ask. They do not diagnose, and they do not replace care from a clinician who knows you.
Get help now
If you have chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of a stroke or another emergency, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
What this area covers
Symptoms & finding care. How to find a primary care doctor who is accepting new patients: where to look for your kind of coverage, what to ask when you call, and where to get care while you wait.
Conditions & test results. What a result can and cannot tell you, starting with what your eGFR kidney test result means and when a number calls for a follow-up conversation.
Medicines & treatment choices. Generic versus brand-name medicines: what has to be identical, what can differ, and what to ask your pharmacist or prescriber.
Mental health & emotional wellbeing. How to find a therapist you can afford, whether you have private insurance, Medi-Cal, Medicare or no coverage at all.
Prevention & healthy aging. The preventive visits and screenings that coverage generally includes, and why a visit described as free can still produce a bill.
Start here
- How to find a primary care doctor who is accepting new patients
- What your eGFR kidney test result means, with a printable kidney test results log
- Generic versus brand-name medicines: what is the same, what can differ, and what to ask
- How to find a therapist you can afford
From the patient education library
- Preparing for a Primary Care Visit
- How to Read and Understand Your Laboratory Report
- Questions to Ask Before Starting a Medication
- Mental Health and Primary Care
- Using a Patient Portal: How to Access Your Health Information Online
Where this connects
Health care is also a system of rules: who must be covered, what a plan may require before it pays, what a bill may include and what you can do when the answer is no. When your question shifts from "what does this mean for my health?" to "what am I entitled to?", the policy library explains prior authorization, surprise billing and Medi-Cal in the same plain language.