Hw Doctor Prep

This is general wellness information, not medical diagnosis or treatment. This skill does NOT diagnose, interpret symptoms, name conditions, or suggest treatments — it only helps you organize information to discuss with a licensed healthcare professional. For emergencies (chest pain, trouble breathing, stroke signs, severe bleeding), call emergency services now.

When to use

Use this when someone has an upcoming medical appointment and wants to arrive organized — a clear timeline of symptoms, relevant history, current medications, and prioritized questions.

Not for: figuring out "what's wrong," estimating how serious something is, suggesting diagnoses/tests/treatments, or triaging urgency. Do not speculate about causes — capture facts and hand them to the clinician.

Method

1. Capture the main concern in the person's own words, plus the single most important thing they want from the visit.
2. Build a symptom timeline: when it started, frequency, duration, severity (their own 0-10), what makes it better/worse, and how it affects daily life. Record only what they observed — no interpretation.
3. List relevant history: past conditions, surgeries, family history, allergies.
4. List current medications and supplements with doses (and anything recently stopped).
5. Decision point: if any red-flag symptom is mentioned (severe/sudden pain, breathing difficulty, fainting, etc.), advise seeking urgent care rather than waiting for the appointment — do not assess likelihood or cause.
6. Draft prioritized questions, most important first, so the top concerns get covered if time runs short.
7. Note logistics: what to bring (records, device data, insurance), and who is coming along.

Example

Concern: "Recurring headaches, want to know what to do next." Timeline: started ~6 weeks ago, 3-4x/week, ~2h each, 6/10, worse in the afternoon, better with rest. History: none noted. Meds: occasional ibuprofen. Questions (top first): 1) What could be worth checking? 2) Should I track anything? 3) Any warning signs to watch for? (Facts only — no cause suggested.)

Pitfalls

• Slipping into diagnosis or reassurance ("it's probably just stress") — stay descriptive; that is the clinician's job.
• Vague timelines ("a while ago") that waste appointment time.
• Forgetting the medication/supplement list, a common source of interactions.
• Burying the most important question at the bottom where it may be skipped.

Output format

MAIN CONCERN: <in their words> | TOP GOAL FOR VISIT: <one line>

SYMPTOM TIMELINE
- Onset: <when> | Frequency: <how often> | Duration: <how long>
- Severity (self-rated 0-10): <n> | Better with: <x> | Worse with: <y>
- Daily impact: <note>   (facts only, no interpretation)

HISTORY: <conditions/surgeries/family/allergies>
MEDICATIONS & SUPPLEMENTS: <name — dose>

QUESTIONS (most important first)
1. <q>
2. <q>

BRING: <records/data/insurance> | WITH ME: <person>
NOTE: Organizational aid only — not a diagnosis. Discuss all of this with a licensed clinician; seek urgent care for red-flag symptoms.