Preparing for Doctor Appointments
These resources, mostly from Parkinson's organizations, help you prepare for appointments with your primary care physician, neurologist, or movement disorder specialist, to make the most of the time.
Since many appointments will focus on the timing and characteristics of symptoms, explore the variety of symptom trackers listed below. Trackers come in printable PDFs, websites, and apps.
Other resources focus on documents or information you should take with you to appointments and other suggestions.
Brief Tips on Preparing for the Appointment
5 Ways to Maximize Your Next 15 Minutes with Your Doctor
By Tom Sheppard. Published by Davis Phinney Foundation, April 19, 2018
After a demanding 2017 that included 68 appointments with 13 doctors, plus physical therapy, radiation, and multiple MRIs, author Tom shares five strategies he learned to maximize time with doctors and become a stronger self-advocate.
8 Tips for Your Next Medical Appointment
Published by Lewy Body Dementia Association
This guide breaks down a medical appointment into eight steps, covering how to define the purpose of the visit, describe symptoms and changes, and ensure follow-through. It also highlights what to do if you leave the appointment with unanswered concerns, difficulty following instructions, or a negative reaction to medication.
Making the Most of Your Medical Appointment
Published by Parkinson's Foundation
This two-page bullet point fact sheet outlines what to bring to your appointment, as well as tips for making the appointment go smoothly and for ensuring you have all the information you need before you leave the clinic.
Videos about the Appointment
Preparing for a Visit with the Neurologist
By American Parkinson Disease Association, Massachusetts Chapter, September 20, 2022
In this 40-minute webinar, movement disorder specialist Katelyn Bird, MD, discusses how to best prepare for the next appointment with your neurologist, and how to make the most of each visit.
Taking Charge: Strategies for Meaningful Healthcare Visits with PD
Published by Parkinson's Foundation, May 27, 2025
In this 75-minute webinar participants learn from three experts how to make the most of each appointment by prioritizing their needs, preparing questions and concerns in advance, and advocating for themselves or their loved one.
What to Expect at an Appointment with a Movement Disorder Specialist
By Partners in Parkinson's, July 30, 2014
This seven-minute video explains why you may want a movement disorder specialist (MDS) on your care team, what a MDS is looking for during an appointment, and the care partner's role on the care team.
Take to Your Appointment
How to Get the Most Out of Your Neurologist Visit
Published by Parkinson's Canada
Page one of this two-page fact sheet provides a list of what to bring to a neurology appointment and communication tips like prioritizing your concerns, understanding your care plan, and being politely persistent between appointments. Page two is a "PD Summary" to complete before each appointment, which captures observations related to medication use, worsening symptoms, diet and appetite, and lifestyle.
Tools to prepare for a doctor appointment
Published by Parkinson's Foundation
The Medical Appointment Worksheet helps you prioritize issues to discuss, list current medications, remind your doctor of your living situation and care routine, and provides space for notes during the visit.
The Medications and Schedule Worksheet includes two pages: the first for recording medications, dosages, and reasons prescribed, and the second for charting dosing schedules with room to note side effects, “wearing off,” and other observations.
The Parkinson's Symptoms Diary helps you keep track of symptoms. Your observations and those of your caregivers can help the medical team make a care plan.
Although the Preparing for a Medical Appointment webpage is directed at care partners, the tips are just as helpful for people with Parkinson's, and can help prepare a list of questions to ask the physician about medications during the appointment.
Symptom Tracking Worksheets & Online Tools
APDA Healthcare Communication Graph
By American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA)
This online self-evaluation tool helps identify changes in motor and non-motor symptoms over time. Results can be printed or emailed and shared with your healthcare team to help focus appointments.
Parkinson’s Symptoms Diary Worksheet
Published by Parkinson’s Foundation
This printable six-page worksheet allows you to track medication, meal and sleep times for 24 hours with additional pages to track three symptoms per page throughout the day.
Parkinson’s Well-Being Map
By UCB S.A., Belgium
This online self-evaluation tool helps track motor and non-motor symptoms and prepare for doctor appointments. You may enter custom symptoms within eight categories and save maps to compare over time.
Also available as a printable worksheet.
Weekly Wellbeing Tracker
Published by Parkinson Canada, May 2025
This printable weekly tracker helps monitor well-being indicators, track progress toward personal goals and identify patterns over time.
Worksheets, Checklists, and Assessments
Published by Davis Phinney Foundation
The Every Victory Counts® Parkinson’s worksheets, checklists, and assessments help document symptom timing, characteristics and changes to support discussions with your doctor.
Symptom Tracker Apps
APDA Symptom Tracker
By American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA)
This app tracks motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms and medications. Information can be shared with your clinician before appointments.
Download to your device:
Google Play | Apple App Store
My Moves Matter
By My Moves Matter
This app tracks medication timing and Parkinson’s symptoms, allows journal entries by text, voice, photo or video and can track menstrual cycle changes related to perimenopause or menopause. Patterns can be shared with your medical team.
Download to your device:
Google Play | Apple App Store.
Parkinson Symptom Tracker (Pro-PD App)
By Parkinson Center for Pragmatic Research
Designed for patients, providers and researchers to assess and track symptom severity over time.
Download to your device:
Google Play | Apple App Store
PD Buddy
By Parkinson's UK
This app helps track and manage symptoms, set medication reminders, access education and research updates and connect with others.
Download to your device:
Google Play | Apple App Store
StrivePD App
By Rune Labs
This Apple-only mobile, which integrates with the Apple Watch, tracks symptoms, medication adherence and activity levels and includes access to clinical trial opportunities. A premium service, StrivePD Guardian, is available for a fee.
Download to your device:
Apple App Store
Last updated February 2026 by Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach