Prepare for Your Next Appointment

Select your surgery and recovery stage to generate the right questions to raise at your GP or surgical review.

ⓘ Always speak with your doctor. This tool generates questions to ask your clinical team. It does not provide medical advice or answers. Always follow the guidance of your GP, surgeon, or healthcare professional.

1. Which surgery did you have?

Procedure

2. Where are you in your recovery?

Your appointment questions

Print or share this list before your appointment. Your clinical team will be able to answer these questions in the context of your specific situation.

Why prepare questions before your appointment?

Published research consistently shows that patients recall only 40–80% of what they intended to raise at medical appointments, and this figure falls further when the patient is anxious, fatigued, or managing post-operative pain medication. A structured list of questions prepared before the appointment helps ensure that nothing important is missed during a consultation that may last only 10–15 minutes.

The questions generated by this tool are based on the clinical areas most commonly relevant at each stage of surgical recovery, drawing on published guidance from NHS, RCOG, NICE, AAOS, and healthdirect. They are designed to be starting points for a clinical conversation: not a checklist with expected answers. Your surgeon or GP may address some questions quickly and spend significant time on others, depending on your specific situation.

If you are bringing a carer or family member to your appointment, sharing this question list with them beforehand helps them support the consultation effectively. Research on surgical consultations shows that patients accompanied by a support person recall significantly more information from their appointment.

Sources: NHS patient communication guidance · NICE shared decision-making guidelines · healthdirect.gov.au · AAOS orthopaedic patient education resources