# Doctor visit prep worksheet

Use this before a same-day diagnostic visit, first planned gout visit, prevention review, repeated-flare visit, unclear-diagnosis visit, or medication review.

Do not include names, photos, addresses, clinician names, account details, or clinic identifiers unless you need them for your own private record.

## Same-day routing check

Mark any that apply:

- [ ] First hot, swollen joint or first possible gout flare
- [ ] Fever, chills, wound, spreading redness, or concern for infection
- [ ] Trauma, fall, puncture, or injury
- [ ] Severe illness, immune suppression, or high-risk medical context
- [ ] Pattern is not normal for me
- [ ] Pain is extreme, rapidly worsening, or the joint cannot be used

If any are checked, this may be a same-day evaluation issue.

## Visit type

- [ ] Same-day diagnostic visit
- [ ] First planned gout visit
- [ ] Prevention review
- [ ] Repeated-flare review
- [ ] Medication or lab review
- [ ] Unclear diagnosis or new pattern

Main decision I need from this visit:

```text

```

## Pattern summary

- Flare count in the period I care about:
- Approximate flare dates or date ranges:
- Joints affected:
- Same-joint recurrence:
- New joints or new symptoms:
- Baseline pain or function limits between flares:
- Lingering swelling, heat, stiffness, or sensitivity:

## Rescue response

| Rescue tool | When used | Helped? | Side effects or problems |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Prescription rescue plan |  |  |  |
| OTC medication |  |  |  |
| Cold, elevation, pressure relief, footwear, or rest |  |  |  |
| Topical, supplement, cannabis product where legal, or sleep aid |  |  |  |

## Labs and monitoring

| Lab or value | Value | Date or approximate timing | During flare, after flare, or between flares? | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Serum urate or uric acid |  |  |  |  |
| Creatinine or eGFR |  |  |  |  |
| Other relevant lab |  |  |  |  |

Questions:

- Should serum urate be repeated after the flare settles?
- What serum urate target are we treating to?
- What labs should be monitored, and when?

## Changes since the pattern started

- Medication changes:
- Supplement changes:
- Hormone context or hormone medication changes:
- Diet, alcohol, concentrated fructose, fasting, or weight-change context:
- Training, travel, heat, dehydration, injury, or illness:
- New products, topicals, cannabis products where legal, or sleep aids:

## Top questions

Choose the most important 3.

1.
2.
3.

Possible questions to use or rewrite:

- What is the working diagnosis, and what else should be considered?
- What serum urate target are we treating to?
- If my uric acid number was normal during a flare, should we repeat it after the flare settles?
- Do repeated flares, same-joint flares, or lingering swelling suggest imaging or tophi evaluation?
- Does baseline pain or function limit suggest joint damage, tophi, another diagnosis, or a prevention gap?
- What is my rescue plan for the next flare?
- What signs mean use the plan, step back, call, or seek same-day evaluation?
- If medication is started or changed, what should we monitor and when?

## During the visit

- Diagnosis or working diagnosis:
- Urate target:
- Labs ordered:
- Imaging ordered:
- Medicine changes:
- Rescue plan:
- Activity boundary:
- Follow-up timing:
- Questions still unanswered:

## After the visit

- What I am doing next:
- What I am tracking:
- When I should recheck labs:
- When to message or call:
- What to bring to the next visit:

## Claude prompt

```text
Help me prepare a de-identified gout doctor visit worksheet. Ask one question at a time. Do not ask for names, photos, addresses, clinician names, account details, or clinic identifiers. First ask which visit type this is: same-day diagnostic visit, first planned gout visit, prevention review, repeated-flare review, medication or lab review, or unclear diagnosis. Then ask for flare pattern, labs, baseline pain, rescue response, medication or supplement changes, and main concerns. End with a one-page visit agenda and blank note fields for what the clinician says.
```