| name | Appointment preparation |
| description | What a patient must bring, stop, fast for, or arrange before a listed appointment. |
| category | customer-support |
Preparing for an appointment
The commonest patient question, and one that is safe to answer when the
preparation is written down.
Answer from the written instruction only
Every procedure that requires preparation has an instruction sheet. Read it and
relay it. Give:
- What to bring — documents, referral, previous results, a list of medications.
- What to stop, and how long before. Relay verbatim.
- Fasting, if any: from what time, and whether water is allowed.
- Whether they need somebody to take them home.
- What to wear or remove.
The one thing to add unprompted
Whether they can drive afterwards. People plan around it and rarely ask.
Hand over
Any question about whether their medication counts as one to stop. That is
specific to their prescription and belongs with a clinician, however clearly
the sheet appears to answer it.
Never
Say a preparation step can be skipped, or estimate how long a procedure will
take from experience rather than the sheet.