Set up a medication, appointment and doctor-question tracker for a parent

Turn pill bottles, appointment cards and scattered notes into one shared sheet with meds, visits and questions to ask.

The problem

When a parent sees several doctors, keeping track of which pills, which doses, which appointments and what each doctor said is a full-time job. Information lives on pill bottles, fridge calendars and in different siblings' heads.

Step by step

1. 1Gather the pill bottles, the latest visit summaries from the patient portal and any appointment cards. Write medication names, doses and times as printed on the label.
2. 2Paste the prompt below into ChatGPT or Claude with medication names and doses. Leave out your parent's full name, birthday, insurance ID and pharmacy account numbers.
3. 3Build the Google Sheet the AI lays out (Meds, Appointments, Questions tabs) and put appointments on a shared Google Calendar.
4. 4Take the medication list to the pharmacist or doctor and ask them to confirm it. Never change, stop or combine medicines based on AI output.
5. 5Before each visit, review the Questions tab and print it, then add the doctor's answers afterward.

Copy-paste prompt

Help me set up a tracker for my parent's care in Google Sheets. Medications as printed on the labels: [name, dose, times per day, prescribing doctor]. Doctors: [specialty, office]. Upcoming appointments: [dates]. Concerns: [list]. Give me: (1) the tab and column layout for Meds (name, dose, schedule, purpose as the label or doctor stated, refill date, prescriber), Appointments and Questions; (2) my data filled into those columns; (3) a list of questions to ask the pharmacist or doctor to confirm the list is complete and current; (4) suggested questions for the next visit based on the concerns. Don't give medical advice or tell me to change any medication.

Tips and watch-outs

• Never change, stop or combine medicines based on AI output; confirm the list with the pharmacist or doctor.
• Leave out full names, birthdates, insurance IDs and Social Security numbers.
• Share the sheet only with family members and caregivers who need it.

Review AI output before using it. Don’t paste confidential, customer or patient data into tools your company hasn’t approved.