Medical Tip - Document for your Doc

Hi, Jana here. Since late 2022 I’ve spent a lot more time with doctors than usual so I thought I’d share a tip that might help you navigate those appointments when your Portuguese isn’t that strong.
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​We’ve found that most healthcare pros speak some English and often that is indicated on a hospital’s website or app. That way if you have the option as to which doc to choose, that language info is very helpful. But sometimes you just never know. Or their English is basic, but still tons better than our basic Portuguese. We chose to live here so we do our best.

Because ensuring that your medical pro receives the proper information, which is so critical in these situations, I decided to create a document that covers the essentials. I’ve done this ever since we moved here and it’s worked great. Since I used to be a registered nurse (many years ago), this came naturally.
I first draft the document in English, then translate into Portuguese using DeepL translator. I keep my English copy and pass the other one to the doc. That way if he or she has any questions I can refer to my own copy to clarify any issues.

I have occasionally written out any questions I have and then translated them into Portuguese. I do this with my hematologist and then he answers me in English since the topic is pretty complex.
 
Here’s the basics of that form. I’ve also included a mythical patient’s information sheet below so you can see what it looks like.
 
Name:
Age:
<if you want you can include your Número de Utente or NIF>
Status: (married, single, etc)    Children: 
Family Medical History:
Allergies:
 
Current Health Issues:
<I indicate whatever current things are going on, including those that are chronic>

Current Medications:
<A list of your meds including dosage and how often you take them>

 Medical & Surgical History:
<under this section I listed my various surgeries organized by year and any other medical issues I’ve had in the past that might be relevant to this particular appointment. During the height of the pandemic I included a list of my current vaccinations.
 
The doctors LOVE this because it allows them to type the pertinent info into your computer record without you trying to explain things in your (probably) basic Portuguese. If you’re fluent in this language, bless you. We’re certainly not, especially when it comes to medical terminology.

Here’s what it looks like for a fictitious patient:

Name: Adam Henry
Age: 56 years
Status: Married    Children: 3
Family Medical History: Colon cancer, diabetes
Allergies: Peanuts
 
Current Health Issues:
Pain in left knee
High Blood Pressure
Elevated Blood Sugar

Current Medications:
Candesartan Aurovitas 8mg - 1/day
 
Medical History:
2018 – Surgery for Hiatal Hernia
2010 – Right Arm Fracture
1978 – Appendectomy
 
At this point add any other information you feel the doctor might need to know, like if you’re receiving physical therapy, just completed six rounds of chemotherapy, things like that.
 
Because I have a medical background, I include more specific medical terms for each item, but that isn’t necessary if you don’t know those terms. Just lay out what you do know and they’ll go from there.

In the case of the ladies, you might include the dates of your last mammography and ultrasound exams, and the results. List any surgeries related to childbearing or your reproductive system, (if that applies), and if you're in menopause, etc.

If you’re presenting this document to a technician before a mammography and ultrasound, they might want to know if you’ve had breast surgery or cancer so they can make note of that for the radiologist reading the exams. Same with family medical history of cancer. In my case I list my Follicular Lymphoma because that first was found in my left axillary (armpit) lymph node. 

Feel free to tinker with the layout and the sections so they best suit your medical history and current situation. Update as needed. I also used a stripped down version of this document (I removed the surgeries etc) for my ophthalmologist and dermotologist since they need to know I am receiving immunotherapy and for what reason. 

Hope this is helpful.