What to bring to your first visit
The consultation starts from what is already known about your health rather than from scratch — but only if you bring the right things with you.
A first consultation is far more useful when it can start from evidence. These are worth gathering before you travel, particularly if you are coming from out of town.
- Previous medical reports
- Recent laboratory test results
- Your current medicine list
- Previous prescriptions, if available
- Relevant medical history
Bring the boxes, not the names
Bring the actual medicine boxes rather than a list of names, including anything you started and then stopped. Dose and strength matter, and they are printed on the box.
If you are coming about diabetes
Bring your last HbA1c and your fasting and after-meal readings from the past two weeks. Readings taken over time say far more than a single measurement on the day.
If you are coming about your gut
Keep a simple note for three days of what you eat, when the symptom comes, and how long it lasts. That note is worth more than most reports.
If you are coming about weight
Write down everything you ate and drank for three ordinary days — not three careful ones. An honest record is the only kind that helps.
Phone the clinic before travelling if you are coming from another city, so you are not making the journey on a day the clinic is not consulting.