Prepare for a visit together: a caregiver's checklist

When you are going to an appointment with someone, start with what they want your help with. Perhaps they want you to take notes. Perhaps they want company on the journey and some time alone in the appointment. Write down the arrangement you make together.

This checklist is for practical preparation with an adult who can tell you their preferences. It does not establish permission to access records or authority to make decisions for someone else.

Agree on the job before gathering the paperwork

MedlinePlus's caregiver guidance recommends discussing your involvement before the visit, including what each person wants to raise and whether part of the appointment should be private. Read the caregiver visit guidance.

Try writing a short role note together:

• Help wanted: What would you like me to handle?
• Your part: What would you like to say or ask yourself?
• Sharing: What are you comfortable with me bringing up?
• Private time: Would you like me to step out for any part?

You can use ordinary words rather than formal labels. An invented example might be: “Please write down appointment details. I want to explain my question myself, but remind me about the letter if I forget it.” Check the arrangement again on the day instead of assuming it still fits.

For questions about receiving information or accessing a portal, ask the clinic what permission process applies. A completed worksheet is a preparation note, not an authorization form.

Give practical tasks a named person

Make a short list of the arrangements you actually need: checking the location, arranging a ride, finding the requested documents, or keeping the appointment contact number handy. Beside each task, write who has agreed to do it and what still needs confirming.

For an online visit, you can add the joining instructions and decide whose device you will use. If you need communication support, ask the clinic what can be arranged before the appointment. NIA's appointment guide also discusses requesting an interpreter ahead of time. Read NIA's preparation guidance.

Gather the paperwork the person wants to bring and anything requested by the clinic. If a medicine list is part of those materials, the medication and supplement list provides space to record existing information and questions. It does not recommend doses or changes.

Put the agreed plan in one place

Open the care-partner visit-preparation checklist. It has spaces for agreed sharing, your role, what the person wants to discuss themselves, documents, questions and details to confirm before leaving. Use their wording where possible.

The worksheet holds entries only in the current page's memory. Reloading, closing the tab or navigating away loses them. Use Print this worksheet before leaving the page and check the browser's print preview. Or print it empty and fill it in together on paper. The website does not save these entries to an account or send them to the app.

Make the notes easy to hand back

If note-taking is your agreed role, give each topic its own space. Separate what was said from a question you still have. You might use “confirmed detail” and “needs clarification” as two labels. Avoid filling a gap with something you think you remember.

Before finishing, check the practical details you wrote down: the next task, who will handle it, and any timing or contact instructions you were given. If your notes are unclear, ask the office for clarification through its usual process. MedlinePlus also recommends reviewing the visit together afterward and taking remaining questions back to the provider. See its after-appointment guidance.

Agree what happens to the notes afterward

Give the person the notes or put them in the location you agreed on. Ask what, if anything, they want passed on to other people rather than automatically sending a family update.

For any task you have offered to handle, write a specific action such as “check the appointment location with the office.” Say if a task is more than you can take on. Finish by asking whether there is anything they would like done differently next time, and carry that preference into the next role note.