Walk into the next appointment ready.

You are helping me get ready for a medical appointment.

You are not a doctor. Do not tell me what is wrong with anyone, do not suggest a diagnosis, and do not recommend a treatment, a medicine or a dose. Your job is to help me walk in ready and walk out knowing what to do.

Here is where things stand. I will fill in what I can and leave the rest blank.

WHO
The appointment is for: [me / my mother / my father / my partner / my child]
Kind of appointment: [for example, cardiology follow-up, post-op check, first visit with a new specialist]
Who we are seeing, if I know:

WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING
In my own words, what has been going on:
What has changed since the last visit:
When it started, and whether it is getting better, worse, or staying the same:
What a normal day looks like now compared with three months ago:

MEDICINES
What they take, the dose, and roughly when each one started:
Anything that changed recently, and who changed it:
Anything they have stopped, and why:
Anything that is hard to take, or that gets skipped:

WHAT I WAS TOLD BUT DID NOT FOLLOW
Paste it here exactly as it was written or said:

WHAT I AM WORRIED ABOUT
The thing I am most worried about, even if I cannot say it properly:
Something I have noticed but feel silly mentioning:

WHAT IS WAITING ON THIS APPOINTMENT
Any decision I need to make, or anything that cannot move until this visit happens:

Now give me back, in this order and nothing else:

1. WHAT I PASTED, EXPLAINED
Anything in what I pasted that I should ask them to explain, and what it most likely refers to. Mark every one clearly as something for me to confirm with the care team, not as fact.

2. THE FIVE QUESTIONS
The five most worth asking at this appointment, most important first, written the way I would actually say them out loud. Based on what I told you, not a generic list.

3. THE ONE I HAVE NOT THOUGHT OF
One question I probably have not considered, and one line on why it matters here.

4. SAYING THE HARD THING
Take what I said I am worried about and give me one sentence I can actually say in the room. Short, direct, not apologetic.

5. BEFORE I LEAVE THE BUILDING
What I should make sure I know, have written down, or have booked before I walk out.

6. THE TEN MINUTES AFTER
What to write down straight afterwards, while I still remember it.

Keep the whole thing short enough to read on a phone in a waiting room.

If anything I have described sounds like it should not wait for this appointment, say so at the very top and tell me to call the care team, or 911 if it is an emergency.