Taking a parent to the doctor?
Start here.

Before you go / A quick check

Bring the essentials. Check the practical details.

• Insurance cards and anything the office requested. Check the appointment time, location, transportation, and any forms or instructions to complete beforehand.
• Names and phone numbers of other providers. Include specialists involved in your family member’s care so the office knows whom to contact.
• A current medication and supplement list. Include prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements; write down doses, how they’re taken, and concerns. Check the list against what your family member actually takes, and add anything missing. The NIH medication and supplement worksheet (PDF) can help you keep a list to bring with you.
• Relevant records and your questions. Bring instructions, results, or visit summaries you want to discuss, with their dates. Ask whether the office already has records from other providers.
• Support for the visit. Ask ahead about an interpreter, mobility or hearing support, and how your family member can give permission for you to participate.

If you only have a few minutes, start with your family member’s main concern, the medication list, and the office’s required paperwork. The rest can be a list of things to follow up on.

Veritell brings together provider names, medication lists, relevant records, and more from your connected health records to help you prepare.

01 / Before the visit

Put your most important concerns first.

Ask your family member what matters most to them and how they want you to help. Write down their concerns and anything you’ve noticed, then put the list in order of importance together. Share it at the beginning of the appointment so the provider knows what you most want to address.

You don’t need to limit the list to a set number. The care team may need to address something more urgent first. Ask how to follow up on anything there isn’t time to discuss.

02 / Bring what you have

Turn “something seems different” into a few details.

Write down what changed, roughly when it started, and how it affects everyday life. Separate what you observed from what you’re unsure about. You don’t need to work out the cause yourself.

When information is scattered across a portal, discharge paperwork, and messages from different offices, bring the specific item and its date. Turn each uncertainty into a question the provider can answer.

You can bring an imperfect list. A question is more useful than a guess.

03 / Before you leave

Make the next step clear enough to repeat.

Let your family member speak for themselves when they can and want to. Add context with their permission. Ask for plain language whenever an explanation is hard to follow.

• “What is the main thing we should understand from today?”
• “What are we doing next, and when?”
• “If a medicine is changing, what changes and what should stay the same? Can we have an updated list?”
• “What changes should prompt a call, and when would we need urgent help?”
• “Who should we contact with questions, and how?”

Before you head home

• Collect written instructions. Ask for a visit summary and check that you understand the next steps.
• Confirm who will arrange tests or referrals. Write down who will contact whom, by when, and how to follow up if you haven’t heard.
• Decide who needs an update. With your family member’s permission, agree on what to share with other caregivers or relatives and who will share it.
• Keep unfinished questions on the list. Ask how and when to get answers to anything you couldn’t cover today.

This worksheet helps you ask questions; it does not tell you how to change treatment.