Emily pictured with her father.
I have spent my career talking about the importance of putting the right information in front of people at the right moment. A few days ago, I found out what that actually feels like.
My father had two concerning medical events within 24 hours, including seizures he had never experienced before. If you have ever been the person standing next to a parent in that moment, you know the feeling. You are scared and you want to do the right thing, but you have no idea what the right thing is.
I work on AskMD by Sharecare, so I opened it. Not as a demo. As a daughter.
The first thing it did was tell me where to go
I entered his symptoms and explained what I could about the two events he had in 24 hours. AskMD guided me straight to the next step: take him to the ER for evaluation. No hedging, no long list of possibilities to sort through on my own. Just a clear direction when I badly needed one.
It also helped me understand what could be causing what I was seeing. And, maybe most importantly, in that moment, it gave me the language I needed to speak up for him in the ER.
Why speaking up mattered
His labs and CT scan looked good. In a busy ER, that is often where the visit ends. There was a very real chance he would have been sent home to follow up with a specialist later.
But because AskMD helped me understand the possible causes of his events and what questions to ask, I was empowered to have a much more informed conversation with the ER team. Which is why I asked for a neurology consult.
The neurologist came in while we were still in the ER, identified the actual issue, and started my dad on the appropriate medication. If we had left the ER instead of requesting the consult, finding an in-network specialist, getting an appointment, and waiting to be seen could have taken weeks. Instead, it was resolved in under 12 hours. And what the neurologist found was exactly what AskMD had led me to consider.
AskMD stayed with me the whole time
The value AskMD brought my family went well beyond its initial recommendation to head to the ER.
Understandably, staff in the ER are too busy to fully explain every question a worried family member has. AskMD filled those gaps. It helped me understand what was happening, gave me questions to ask, and offered steady reassurance when I needed it.
For those 12 hours, AskMD felt like having a knowledgeable, calm guide in the palm of my hand. Someone helping me ask the right questions and giving me the confidence to advocate for my dad when it mattered most.
I want to be clear about what AskMD did and did not do. It did not diagnose my father. His doctors did that. What AskMD did was help me get him in front of the right doctor faster, and help me be a more informed, more confident participant in the conversation once we got there.
What I took from it
This was not a marketing statistic or a product walkthrough. This was my dad, and I was trying to make the best decisions I could for him.
When we say we want to help people make better decisions about their health, I now have a very personal picture of what that looks like: helping someone move from uncertainty to the right next step, and get on the right path faster.
I am grateful to be part of the team that built AskMD. But I am even more grateful that AskMD was there when my family needed it.
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Editor’s note: Emily is a member of the Sharecare marketing team. She shared this experience with our leadership team, and we asked if we could publish it here with her permission. The story is hers, in her words. AskMD provides health guidance and information to help people understand their options and find appropriate care. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or someone you love is having a medical emergency, call 911.