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 Trackers
APDA Healthcare Communication Graph
By American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA)
This online self-evaluation tool of motor and non-motor symptoms allows you to identify changes in symptoms over time. Print or email and share results with your healthcare team to make appointments more focused and productive.
APDA Symptom Tracker
By American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA)
This app tracks motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, and medications. There are reminders to enter data into the app, push notifications about helpful education programs, and updates on treatments. All information can be shared with your clinician prior to your appointments.
Download to your device from Google Play or the App Store.
My Moves Matter
By My Moves Matter
This app reminds you to take your meds on time, track PD symptoms, add a journal note by text/voice/photo/video, track menstral cycle or relationship of PD symptoms to perimenopause/menopause, and share patterns with your medical team.
Download to your device from Google Play or the App Store.
Parkinson’s Symptoms Diary Worksheet
Published by Parkinson’s Foundation
This printable 6-page PDF 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 of motor and non-motor symptoms allows you to identify changes in symptoms over time and prepare for doctors appointments. If a symptom is not pre-printed, you can enter your own symptoms in eight symptom categories. Save each map to compare over time. Fill out a questionnaire to prepare for your next doctor appointment.
Also available as a printable worksheet.
Parkinson Symptom Tracker (Pro-PD App)
By Parkinson Center for Pragmatic Research
Designed for patients, providers, and researchers as a tool for assessing and tracking symptom severity over time. The scale has been designed to be sensitive at all stages of disease and to be accurate, fast, easy, and readily accessible.
Download to your device from Google Play or the App Store
StrivePD App
By Rune Labs
Strive PD is a free, easy-to-use tool for your phone that helps track symptoms, medication adherence, and activity levels, while connecting users to clinical trial opportunities. Also available is StrivePD Guardian, a premium (paid) service that offers continuous monitoring and tailored feedback to help manage Parkinson’s more effectively, optimize treatment decisions, and stay on top of care.
Weekly Wellbeing Tracker
Published by Parkinson Canada, May 2025
Print and fill in by hand this weekly well-being tracker to monitor key well-being indicators, track your progress toward personal goals, and build a clear picture of your overall well-being. You can choose to track observations for all indicators or focus on the ones most relevant to your experience. When tracking, be reflective and consistent so you can recognize patterns, changes, and note how you’re feeling over time.
Worksheets, Checklists, and Assessments
Published by Davis Phinney Foundation
The Every Victory Counts® Parkinson’s worksheets, checklists, and assessments can help you become more aware of the timing and characteristics of your symptoms, document those symptoms, note changes, and discuss them with your doctor.
Last updated September 2025 by Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach