The Caregiver's Medical-Appointment Checklist (Print-Friendly)

Caregivers who nail the prep make every appointment shorter, safer, and less exhausting. Print this and stick it on the fridge — it's the checklist we use with our own family.

24 hours before

• Confirm the appointment time, address, and provider name
• Confirm the NEMT pickup — provider dispatch number, driver name if available
• Charge the phone
• Fill any prescriptions the patient might need mid-day
• Pack a snack and water bottle (dialysis and infusion patients often need calories after)
• Print or screenshot the medication list and any recent lab results

The go-bag

• Insurance and Medicaid ID cards
• Photo ID
• Current medication list with doses and times
• List of allergies
• Any recent imaging reports or discharge summaries
• Advance directive or power of attorney if applicable
• Change of clothes for long infusions
• Phone charger
• Snack, water, small blanket

At pickup

• Confirm the driver knows the exact clinic entrance (many hospitals have three)
• Load the wheelchair or walker into the vehicle yourself if you can — you know how it collapses
• Bring the go-bag inside the vehicle, not the trunk
• Have the provider's dispatch number saved for the return call

At the appointment

• Write down the provider's exact instructions
• Ask for next-appointment details before you leave the room
• Confirm any new prescriptions and how they interact with current meds
• Take a photo of any handouts

Booking the return

Call the NEMT dispatch when the patient is 30 minutes from being cleared — not after they are already waiting in the lobby. A little lead time keeps the driver from double-booking.