How to Prepare for a Doctor's Appointment

Most appointments are shorter than they feel, and the important parts are easy to forget once you are in the room. A little preparation turns a rushed visit into a useful one. Here is what to do the week before, the night before, in the room, and afterwards.

Eighteen minutes is an average; many visits are shorter. And the conversation itself starts fast: in one study of recorded visits, clinicians asked for the patient’s concerns in only about a third of encounters, and in two-thirds of the visits where they did, they interrupted the answer after a median of 11 seconds.^[3] Preparation is how you make sure the thing you came for gets said.

The week before: write it down

Start a note on your phone or a sheet of paper. Over the next few days, add to it whenever something occurs to you. You are aiming for three short lists:

1. Why you are going. One or two sentences you could say in the first 30 seconds: “I’ve had a cough for three weeks that wakes me up at night, and it isn’t getting better.” If you have several concerns, rank them, and lead with the one that matters most.
2. What has happened. When it started, how it has changed, what makes it better or worse, what you have tried. The guide to describing symptoms walks through the details clinicians listen for. If you have been keeping a log, bring it.
3. What you want to ask. Write the questions out in full. Our list of 27 questions to ask your doctor is organized by type of visit if you need a starting point.

Also think about what you want from the visit — a test, a referral, a change of medicine, or simply an explanation — and say so.

What to bring

• Your insurance card and photo ID.
• A list of every medicine you take, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and supplements, with doses. Or bring the bottles.
• Your three lists: why you are going, what has happened, what you want to ask.
• Any symptom log, readings (blood pressure, blood sugar) or photos of a rash or swelling that comes and goes.
• Recent test results or records from other clinicians, especially for a first visit.
• Glasses or hearing aids if you use them, and a way to take notes.
• Someone to come with you, if you would like a second pair of ears.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s patient tips start with the same things: bring all the medicines you take, write down your questions, and know your current conditions, past surgeries and illnesses.^[1] A free, printable version of this list is our appointment preparation checklist.

In the room

Say your main concern first, before the conversation moves on. If you have a list, say so at the start (“I have three things I’d like to cover”) so the time can be planned around it. Be specific and honest, including about things that feel embarrassing and about medicines you have not been taking as prescribed. Ask when you don’t understand a word or a plan, and ask again if the answer didn’t help.

Take notes, or ask whoever came with you to. Memory is less reliable than it feels: a review of research on patients’ memory found that 40–80% of medical information is forgotten immediately, and almost half of what is remembered is incorrect.^[4]

Before you leave: four questions

1. What do you think is going on, and what else could it be?
2. What happens next — tests, referrals, a follow-up visit — and who arranges it?
3. How and when will I get my results?
4. What should make me call you, or go to urgent care or the emergency room, before then?

Then read the plan back in your own words: “So I’ll get the blood test this week, and if the cough isn’t better in two weeks, I’ll call.”

Afterwards: the part most people skip

Within a day, read the after-visit summary in your portal and compare it with your notes. Book any follow-up or test you were told to get. Add new medicines or dose changes to your medication list. If a result doesn’t arrive when you were told it would, call — don’t assume no news is good news. Then file it all where you can find it; the guide to organizing medical records explains a simple system.