Preparing for a medical appointment: a carer’s checklist

In the week before

• Write down the main reason for the visit in one or two sentences. Doctors appreciate knowing your priority up front.
• List your questions in order of importance. If time runs short, you will at least cover the top three.
• Note any changes since the last visit: new symptoms, weight changes, sleep, appetite, seizures, behaviour, falls or hospital visits, with approximate dates.
• Check that referrals are current. In Australia a GP referral to a specialist is usually valid for 12 months, or longer if the GP specifies an indefinite referral for a chronic condition.
• Request any test results or reports that should be sent ahead, and confirm the practice has received them.

What to bring

• An up-to-date medicine list, including doses and recent changes.
• A list of allergies and previous adverse reactions.
• Contact details of other clinicians involved in care, so letters can be copied to them.
• Medicare, concession and any private health cards.
• Your symptom or behaviour observations, ideally summarised rather than pages of raw notes.
• Anything that helps the person you care for stay calm — headphones, a favourite toy, snacks, a change of clothes.

During the appointment

Start with your main concern. It is tempting to build up to it, but the most important issue deserves the most time. Be specific: “she has had four seizures in the last fortnight, each lasting about two minutes, compared with one a month before” is far more useful than “the seizures are worse”.

Where possible, include the person you care for in the conversation, and let them speak for themselves if they are able. Ask the doctor to explain any unfamiliar terms. It is completely acceptable to say “can you write that down for me?” or to ask whether you can record key instructions on your phone.

Questions worth asking

• What do you think is causing this, and what else could it be?
• What are the options, and what happens if we wait?
• What side effects should we watch for with this medicine, and when should we call you?
• Are there any tests coming up, and how will we get the results?
• When should we come back, and who do we contact in the meantime?

Afterwards: capture it while it’s fresh

Within a day, write a short summary: the date, the clinician, what was discussed, any decisions, medicine changes, tests ordered and the follow-up plan. Update the medicine list straight away if anything changed. Add the next appointment and any referral expiry dates to your calendar.

These short notes build into a record of the person’s health journey that is far more reliable than memory, and they make the next appointment easier to prepare for.