CareThe Doctor Visit Guide · Family Edition
Free · Yours to keep
A free tool from Ommpo Care
Meet Dottie.™
A twenty-minute appointment can set the direction of your parent's care for the next six months. Most families walk in with a vague worry and walk out with a blur.
This is the guide we built so that doesn't happen. Fill it in the night before. Hand page 3 to the doctor. Write the debrief the same day, while you still remember it.
The waiting room is not where you should be
remembering. This page does that part.
Dottie
Est. 2026 · Ommpo Care
N What to ask
E What to bring
S What to write down
W What to surface
This guide belongs to
Family member completing this guide
How to use it — four moves, about thirty minutes
01
The night before
Fill in pages 3–6 with your parent, not for them. The conversation is half the value.
02
Print two copies
One for your parent's hands, one for whoever goes with them. Staple page 3 on top.
03
In the room
Lead with page 3. Use the scripts on page 7 when the visit starts moving too fast.
04
Same day
Write the debrief on page 8 and send it to the family thread before you go to bed.
A note on what this is. This is an organizing tool, not medical advice, and it does not replace anything your parent's clinicians tell you. It is a place to put what you already know so that it makes it into the room — and a place to put what you hear so it does not live only on the back of a parking receipt.
What's inside
01Why good families still have bad appointmentsp. 2
02The one-pager — the page you hand the doctorp. 3
03Medications, supplements & allergiesp. 4
04The standing picture — conditions, care team, coveragep. 5
05What changed and when — timeline & home readingsp. 6
06In the room — scripts, notes, what was decidedp. 7
07The debrief — the family note, and who does whatp. 8
08Free RN review of your completed guidep. 9
Care
Before the visit · the method
Section 01
01
Why good families still have bad appointments.
Read once · then never again
Nothing goes wrong because anyone was careless. It goes wrong because of how the room is built. The average primary-care visit runs shorter than a haircut, the doctor is reconstructing a year of your parent's life from a screen, and your parent — who has been waiting forty minutes and does not want to be a bother — says "oh, I'm doing fine."
Then you get the call afterward. "What did the doctor say?" And the answer is: something about the blood pressure, and a new pill, and come back in three months.
The four failures, in order of frequency
1
The minimizing. Your parent under-reports. Not dishonestly — they genuinely round down, and they don't want to seem like they're failing.
2
The unasked question. The thing you were most worried about gets raised at minute nineteen, with a hand already on the door.
3
The unlinked list. Three doctors, three medication lists, and nobody holding the one that is actually true today.
4
The evaporating debrief. What was said is clear for about four hours. By the weekend it's gone, and by the next appointment it's contested.
The whole method Four moves
Everything in this guide serves one of four jobs. If you only ever do the first one, you will still have a materially better appointment than you had last time.
Surface
Three things the doctor must hear in the first minute — before the visit finds its own agenda.
Ask
Three questions, ranked. Not ten. Ranked by what is most likely to get skipped.
Bring
The med list, the readings, the photo of the swollen ankle taken on Tuesday evening.
Record
What was actually decided, in writing, the same day — so the family has one version.
Before you start Ten minutes
Call the practice and confirm the appointment time and location
Ask whether a family member may join, and how (in the room, or by phone)
Gather every pill bottle in the house — including the ones in the kitchen drawer
Ask your parent what they want out of this visit, and write it down verbatim
Check whether records from another doctor need to be sent ahead
Confirm transport, and who is doing the driving
If your parent will be alone in the room. Send page 3 with them, and ask them to hand it over rather than explain it. Then ask the practice how you can be reached during the visit — many will call a family member in for the last five minutes if you request it in advance.
Three appointments worth preparing hardest for.
Not all visits are equal
After a hospital stay Highest stakes
More things change here than at any other visit — medications are added and stopped, and the discharge list rarely matches what the primary doctor has on file.
Bring: the discharge paperwork and every bottle in the house, old and new.
Ask: "Which of these do we stop, and which do we keep?"
The annual wellness visit Best leverage
The one appointment of the year with room in it. If there is a slow-moving worry you have been carrying — memory, driving, balance, mood — this is where it belongs.
Bring: page 5, filled in, and the whole medication list.
Ask: "What would you want to know about before the next one?"
The new-symptom visit Most rushed
Short, focused, and easy to leave with an answer that only covers half the question. The timeline on page 6 is what makes this visit go well.
Bring: dates, photos, and the readings you took at home.
Ask: "If it isn't better by when, what should we do?"
The forty-eight hours before
T–48h
Fill pages 4, 5 and 6 with your parent. Gather the bottles. Text the siblings and ask what they want asked.
T–24h
Write page 3 — the summary — now that you have the detail. Confirm transport and the arrival time.
The morning of
Print two copies. Check the bag against the list in section C. Take one last blood-pressure reading.
In the waiting room
Read page 3 aloud together once, so your parent has heard the three things before the door opens.
Care
Hand this page to the doctor
Section 02
02
The one-pager.
The page that does the work
Written so a tired clinician can scan it in twenty seconds. Fill this in last, after pages 4–6 — it is a summary, and summaries are easier to write once you have the detail in front of you.
A · Surface in the first minute Three, ranked. Most important first.
Plain facts with a number and a date where you can. "BP averaging 162/94 over three weeks, up from the 140s in March" lands harder than "her blood pressure seems high."
B · Three questions to ask
Ranked by what is most likely to get skipped — not by what matters least.
C · Bring with you
Insurance card · Medicare card
Photo ID
Full medication list (page 4)
Home readings log (page 6)
Healthcare proxy / advance directive
Photos of anything visible — swelling, rash, bruise
Records or imaging from another doctor
Glasses, hearing aids, walking aid
Other:
D · What the family is worried about In your own words
The sentence you would say if you had the doctor to yourself for thirty seconds. Write it plainly — this is often the most useful line on the page.
E · Since the last visit
A fall, or a near-fall
A hospital or urgent-care visit
A new medication from another doctor
Weight change
Confusion, or new forgetfulness
Change in appetite, sleep, or mood
Stopped doing something they used to do
F · Doctor's notes Leave blank — for the room
Care
Medications, supplements & allergies
Section 03
03
Everything they actually take.
Gather the bottles first
Not what the chart says — what is actually being swallowed. Include over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, supplements, eye drops, creams, inhalers, and anything prescribed by a doctor other than this one. Bring the bottles if you can. A photograph of the bottles laid out on a table is the fastest version of this page.
| Medication / supplement |
Dose |
When taken |
What it's for |
Prescribed by |
Still taking? |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
| | | | | Y / N |
Stopped or changed recently And why
| Medication | When | Why it stopped |
|---|
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
Allergies & bad reactions Drug, food, other
Pharmacy
All prescriptions fill at this one pharmacy
Delivery or auto-refill is set up
The question worth asking every year. "Looking at this whole list together — is there anything here she no longer needs?" Long medication lists tend to accumulate rather than get reviewed, and each doctor usually only sees their own additions. Asking for a look at the whole list, out loud, is what prompts the review.
Care
The snapshot · keep this one current
Section 04
04
The standing picture.
Fill once · update twice a year
This is the page you will be glad exists at 2 a.m. in an emergency room, when someone asks a question you can half-answer. Fill it in once, keep a photo of it on your phone, and put a copy in the glovebox.
Ongoing conditions With the year, if you know it
Surgeries & hospital stays Most recent first
The care team Everyone who writes a prescription or an order
| Role | Name | Practice | Phone | Last seen |
|---|
| Primary care | | | | |
| Specialist | | | | |
| Specialist | | | | |
| Dentist | | | | |
| Eye / hearing | | | | |
| Other | | | | |
Coverage
Primary insurance & member ID
Medicare number / supplemental plan
If you would rather not write ID numbers down, note where they are kept instead.
In an emergency, call
First contact · relationship
Second contact · relationship
Both contacts know they are listed here
Documents & decisions The conversation most families postpone
Healthcare proxy named
Advance directive completed
Copy on file with the practice
Power of attorney in place
Family knows where it's kept
Patient portal access set up
Who helps at home The doctor will ask — most families have to guess
Agency, or privately hired
Lives alone
Still driving
Manages own medications
Manages own money and bills
Stairs to get in or move around
Care
What changed · and when
Section 05
05
What changed, and when.
Dates beat adjectives
"Since about the second week of June" is a clinically useful sentence. "Lately" is not. Work backwards from a landmark you both remember — a birthday, a holiday, the week the air conditioning broke — and the dates will come.
The timeline Oldest at the top
| When it started | What you noticed | Better, worse, or the same? | What seems to set it off |
|---|
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
Home readings Take them at the same time each day
| Date | Time | Blood pressure | Pulse | Weight | Blood sugar | Anything worth noting |
|---|
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
The quiet signals Easy to miss · worth mentioning
Eating less, or skipping meals
Sleeping much more or less
Holding furniture when walking
Mail or bills piling up
Stopped driving at night
Withdrawing from friends
Repeating stories or questions
Wearing the same clothes
New bruises, unexplained
Housekeeping slipping
Anything else the doctor should know
Care
In the room · what was said
Section 06
06
In the room.
Write it down as it happens
Six sentences that slow a visit down
Polite, short, and effective. Nobody minds being asked. Use them out loud.
"Before we start — there are three things we wanted to make sure you heard."
Opens the visit on your agenda instead of the chart's.
"Could you say that once more? I want to write it down correctly."
Buys time and signals you intend to follow through.
"What's the one thing we should watch for between now and the next visit?"
Produces the red flag that otherwise goes unsaid.
"If this doesn't get better, at what point should we call you?"
Turns a vague plan into a threshold you can act on.
"Looking at the whole medication list — is there anything she no longer needs?"
Prompts a review that is otherwise rarely triggered.
"Who should we call if we have a question next week — you, or the nurse line?"
Establishes a route back in before you need it.
If the answer is vague Ask one more
"What would you be looking for if this were your mother?"
"Is that a wait-and-see, or a do-something-now?"
"Could you write that word down for me — I want to look it up correctly."
Visit log Fill in as you sit down
What the doctor said Their words, not your summary
Answers to our three questions
Medication changes
Something started
Something stopped
A dose changed
Tests & referrals ordered
What, where, and who books it.
Watch for Call if this happens
Before you leave the building Sixty seconds at the front desk
Next appointment booked — date written down here
Prescriptions sent to the right pharmacy
Test or imaging appointment scheduled
Referral paperwork in hand or sent
Visit summary printed or in the portal
You know the number to call with a question
Next appointment — date, time, with whom
Number to call with a question
Care
After the visit · the debrief
Section 07
07
The debrief.
Same day · before bed
Two things happen here. First, you sit with your parent for ten minutes and ask what they heard — which is frequently not what was said, and that gap is itself worth knowing. Then you write four sentences to the family so there is one version of events instead of three.
What your parent heard Ask before you tell them
"What did you take away from that?" — then listen without correcting for a full minute.
What they heard matches what was said
Worth clarifying with the practice
How they feel about it Often the part that gets skipped
Relieved, frightened, annoyed, dismissed, resigned. Write the word they use.
They felt listened to
They want someone with them next time
The family note Four sentences · send it tonight
What happened
What changed
What we watch
What's next
Who is doing what A task without a name and a date is a wish
| The task | Who owns it | By when | Done |
|---|
| | | ☐ |
| | | ☐ |
| | | ☐ |
| | | ☐ |
| | | ☐ |
For next time Start the next guide while this one is fresh
Questions we didn't get to, or thought of on the drive home.
What we'd do differently at the next appointment.
Between now and the next appointment The part that decides whether any of this worked
In the first 72 hours
New prescriptions actually picked up
Stopped medicines removed from the pill box
Tests and referrals booked
Each week after
Readings still being taken
No new side effects since the change
Results came back — and someone read them
Care
If you'd rather not do this yourself
About Ommpo Care
The version where someone else fills it in
You just did what
we do every month.
This guide is the do-it-yourself version of a service our members get as part of their plan. On Complete and above, your advisor writes the one-pager before the appointment, and a licensed RN debriefs with your parent afterward.
You don't chase the pill bottles. You don't reconstruct the timeline. You don't get a phone call that starts with "so what did the doctor actually say?" You get a page before, and a written summary after, in the family thread.
Where it sits
01
Repair Concierge
Vetted trades, dispatched and supervised. Your parent never books a contractor alone.
$49/mo
02
Essential
Adds caregiver verification, visit tracking, billing change alerts, a monthly family report.
$149/mo
03
Complete
Dottie™ lives here. Adds the RN Wellness Check-In™, one Doctor Visit Guide™ a month, and the Home Stability Index™.
$329/mo
04
Concierge
A named advisor with a direct line, twice-monthly RN check-ins, an hour of hands-on coordination.
$699/mo
Free · for people who filled this in No plan required
Send us your completed guide.
An Ommpo RN will read it and call you back.
Photograph pages 3 to 6 and email them to dottie@ommpocare.com. A registered nurse on our team will review what you've written and spend twenty minutes with you on the phone before the appointment — what to press on, what you may have under-weighted, what to ask if the answer is vague. There is no charge and no obligation to join.
Ommpo Care
Independent oversight for a parent aging at home.
Verified caregivers. Supervised repairs. Billing watched for the charges that shouldn't be there. A licensed nurse who knows your parent's name. One number for the family to call, so nobody has to guess whether something counts as an emergency.
ommpocare.com/doctor-visit-guidehello@ommpocare.com
Three things families ask us first
"Does my mother have to agree to this?"
Yes, and that is the point. We introduce ourselves to your parent, not around her. Most of what we do — announcing the technician at the door, the nurse who calls at the same time each month — is built to be welcome rather than tolerated.
"Is this covered by Medicare?"
No. Ommpo Care is private-pay, month to month, with no contract and no onboarding fee. That is a deliberate choice: it means we answer to your family rather than to a payer, and we can stop the moment you say so.
"What if she doesn't live near me?"
That is the situation most of our members are in. Long distance is the reason the coordination matters — we are the ones physically local to your parent, and you are the one we report to.
Please read. The Doctor Visit Guide™ is an organizational worksheet published by Ommpo Care. It is not medical advice, does not diagnose or treat any condition, and is not a substitute for the judgment of your parent's clinicians. Nothing in it should delay seeking care. If you believe you are facing a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number. This document will contain sensitive personal and health information once completed — store it somewhere you would be comfortable storing a bank statement, and share it only with people your parent has agreed to share it with. Ommpo Care is not a home health agency and does not provide hands-on medical care. Plan names, pricing, and availability vary by market and are subject to change. © 2026 Ommpo, Inc. Ommpo, Ommpo Care, Dottie, Doctor Visit Guide, RN Wellness Check-In and Home Stability Index are trademarks of Ommpo, Inc.