Your parent has a diagnosis. Here is the first week of paperwork.

How to use this checklist

Do the first six items in one sitting, ideally within forty-eight hours, while the appointment is still fresh and you can still remember who said what.

This is not a research list. Reading about the condition at midnight is a different task and it does not belong in week one. What belongs in week one is getting the facts written down accurately, finding out who the point of contact is, and building somewhere to put paper.

Use one folder. Not a folder plus a drawer plus your inbox plus a note on your phone. One folder, with the date on the front, and everything goes in it even if it is unsorted.

Work in phone-call blocks. Most of these items are a five-minute call, and offices answer better between 9 and 11 in the morning.

Give yourself a stop time each day. The admin will still be there tomorrow, and doing it at 1am is how mistakes get into the record.

The first-week admin checklist

Twenty-seven items. The order matters for the first six; after that, do whatever the day allows.

Print it and keep it in the front of the folder. Cross items off with the date beside them, because two weeks from now you will not remember whether you requested the records on Tuesday or only meant to.

Mark each item with a letter as you read down: C for a call, P for paper, F for family. Then you can pick up whichever block fits the twenty minutes you actually have, instead of re-reading the whole list every time.

Hand the family block to a sibling in one message. It is the most transferable part of week one and the easiest thing to give away without a long explanation.

Nothing on this list is medical. Every item is a phone call, a form, or a line written down.

• Write the diagnosis down exactly as it was given, spelling included, with the date and who gave it
• Write down the doctor's name, their specialty, the practice name, the address and the direct number for the office
• Ask the office one question and write the answer down: who coordinates from here, and who do I call with something that is not urgent
• Ask what the next appointment is, book it before you leave, and put it in one calendar that your siblings can see
• Ask what happens between now and then — which tests, which referrals, and who books each one
• Start the folder today, even if it is a single envelope with the date written on it
• Ask how the practice releases records, what form is needed and how long it takes, then request the visit notes and any reports
• Register for the practice's online portal and store the login where you and one other person can reach it
• Ask whether a written summary exists that you can hand to another professional, and request a copy
• Copy the medication list from the labels as it stands today and write the date at the top
• Ask the pharmacist to review the full list, including anything bought without a prescription
• Write down the pharmacy name, phone number, opening hours and whether they deliver
• Photograph the insurance card front and back, and file the paper copy in the folder
• Call the insurer and ask what is covered, what needs approval in advance, and what each form is called
• Write down every reference number you are given, with the date and the name of the person who gave it
• Ask the practice whether a social worker or a care coordinator is available and how to reach them directly
• Ask what forms exist for transport, for help at home, or for time off work, and who signs each one
• Check your own employer's family leave policy and write down the application deadline
• Write down who you have told, and when. You will lose track by day four otherwise
• Agree with your siblings who does what for the next four weeks, in writing, in one message everyone has
• Decide who keeps the master folder and where it lives, and tell everyone that address
• Ask your parent where the important documents are kept and who already holds copies
• Update the emergency sheet on the fridge with today's information and put a copy in your bag
• Book the follow-up conversation with the office for two weeks out, before the diary fills
• Write the three questions you did not get to ask on a card and keep the card in the folder
• Note what your parent said they want, in their own words, on one page at the front of the folder
• Block one evening this week that has nothing to do with any of this, and keep it

Questions