Bring the information your clinician asked you to track, your current medications and one clear account of what has changed.
Diabetes care looks beyond one number
A diabetes plan can include glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol, along with attention to the eyes, kidneys and feet. Targets and follow-up are individualized. Tell the team when cost or access makes the plan difficult to follow.
You do not need to invent a new tracking routine before a visit. Ask what information will be useful and bring what you actually have. Missing information is a question to resolve, not a reason to postpone the conversation.
Make a one-page visit summary
Divide a sheet into four short headings. This keeps the appointment focused while preserving the details you may need.
- Changed: medicines, specialists, hospital visits or anything new since the last appointment.
- Tracked: the dates covered by any glucose or blood-pressure record you were asked to keep.
- Difficult: supplies, prescription cost, unclear instructions or fitting the plan into daily life.
- Questions: the two issues you most want to understand today.
Bring the originals behind the summary
Keep medication containers, device records and outside laboratory reports together. For a report, include the laboratory name and date. For a device, make sure you can open the record or bring a readable printout.
If several clinicians are involved, list their names and upcoming appointments. Ask which office is arranging each test or referral. That simple ownership question can prevent an important task from being left between offices.
Leave with a short action list
Write the next action beside a person or office: “I arrange…,” “the office sends…” or “we discuss at the next visit….” Ask when to follow up if you have not heard anything.
For established patients, Healow can help with appointment questions, lab orders, results and refills. Use practice code FGCJBD. Call when the concern is time-sensitive. New patients arrange their first visit by phone with the San Bernardino office.
Questions to take with you
- Which follow-up tasks are due before our next visit?
- Who arranges each test or specialist visit?
- What can we do if the current plan is difficult to afford or follow?