Includes bibliographical references and index.

A story of failed decision making -- My medical-decision-making story -- Why not just ask my doctor what to do? -- Personal barriers to becoming your own medical decision maker -- Medical information -- Understanding medical information from experiments -- Does an apple a day keep the doctor away? -- The math of medical decision making -- How to determine the value of potential gains and losses to your health -- Making decisions -- Mr. B -- Beginning to make a decision -- The flow of information for people making medical decisions -- Mr. C -- Mrs. D's not-so-dramatic decision to make -- Using the informed medical-decision-making process for tests -- What if there is no reliable information? -- Clarifications -- Where to look for valuable medical information.