Sending Information in Advance

Preparing information in advance can save us a lot of time -- and your money.  For example, if you're seeing me for a consultation, we can spend more of that time talking about treatment options if the "history" of your symptoms and your previous treatment is already prepared.  Otherwise usually we'll spend the first visit gathering the information below; and then I'll have you do some reading and come back within a week, to continue the process.  At that point we'll start talking about treatment options.  So, you might save as much as a week's time by sending information in advance.  

This approach also allows me to focus on medical care and not on creating great documents, which would be nice but leads to "burn-out"; instead, I can see more patients if I leave the document writing to you, where possible.   

For New Patients, or Consultations

The list below looks pretty huge, I know.  But organizing yourself and your information in advance will hopefully be a useful project, or so some patients have reported to me.  If necessary, you may be very brief with each of the following sections.   Sorry to say, the computer program I use for this can't swallow tables or any other fancy formatting, even though that might seem like a good idea in some cases, so please just follow the outline below which you may cut and paste and then fill in from there if you wish.  Here's an example of a perfectly done history (fictional). 

1.  Main symptom or circumstance

Anything going on at that time which may have been related

What has happened since it started

The main symptoms/problems now

Any clearly related situations now

Additional problems

2. Past psych' treatments

Therapy

What type, if you know

Who you saw (by name, if you remember)

How long you saw this person

Past Psychiatric Medications

for how long (a few days, weeks, months?)

what it did that was bad, if anything

what it did that was good, if anything

Current Psychiatric Medications (if any)

side effects

benefits

concerns, if any

3. Past Medical History

for women, menstrual history:currently cycling? regular, irregular?any chance you could be pregnant now? how do you avoid pregnancy, if sexually active? (embarrassing, perhaps, but crucial for safety; we should ask men how they avoid it too, eh?)

current medications not already named

herbal medications, vitamins: please list name and dose

last time you had a blood test (send or bring your results if possible)

4. Alcohol and Substance Use
(I can't really help you fully if you don't level with me on this part:  obviously if there are factors like alcohol or street drugs that could be affecting your symptoms, and if you don't tell me about them, we could be starting unnecessary treatments, and missing a treatable part of the problem.  So if it's worth being seen at Co-Psych, it's probably worth being really honest with yourself and me about the following) 

Has this ever been a problem for you?

Are there other street drugs do you currently use? 

(if you want to wait to discuss this, that's fine, but don't forget)

5. Family History

Has anyone in the family ever had trouble with: anxiety, depression, losing contact with reality (only when elderly?), suicidal behavior, ending up in a psych hospital, or seeing a psychiatrist?  Think carefully through your generation (brothers/sisters); the "next generation" (children, nephews/nieces); the previous generation (your parents and their brothers/sisters); and the one prior to that (all four grandparents). 

(and finally...)

6. Social History

Basically this can include any relevant details of your past or current situation not already described in the "story" of your symptoms.  Specifically, I always want to know about:

any physical or sexual abuse you experienced at any age

are you being hit or abused in some way now

who do you live with now

what are you doing for income now

who is your emergency contact person and how to reach her/him. 

(7). Reaching You

Lastly,  to set up your insurance billing and communicate in the future if necessary, please provide:  
Address
Date of birth
Telephone Number (s); (okay to leave a message?) 

(Back to the page about what to do before you come in?)