Pre-visit preparation is recommended in the following ways:
1) Consider whether you can accurately represent your condition to the doctor, and if you have difficulty, you may need to inform a relative and ask them to accompany you to the appointment.
2) If you have access to a smartphone or the Internet, you can make an appointment online or by phone to register and reduce the time spent waiting in line at the site.
3) Bring your medical records and checklists, including:
- Outpatient medical records
- Medication record
- Discharge summary
- Films and reports of previous imaging tests (ultrasound, X-ray, CT, MRI, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, PET-CT, etc.)
- Blood test results in the last 1-2 months
- Pulmonary function, bronchoscopy, lung puncture pathology report, genetic test, etc., if done, bring the report as well
4) Fasting visits are not recommended. Most tests require an appointment and few can be done immediately on the same day, so an empty stomach is not needed; on the other hand, the outpatient line is quite large, the waiting time is long, and hypoglycemia can easily occur on an empty stomach.
Co-author: Dr. Ma Yue, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University