Checklist: preparing for a hospital visit (papers, reports, medicine list)

In an emergency, do not wait to prepare. Call 999, Bangladesh's national emergency number, or go to the nearest hospital with emergency services.

Emergency hospitals and the 999 helpline

Before you go

Hospital and clinic listings on this site come from OpenStreetMap, a community-built map. They are not verified, so details such as opening hours, departments or phone numbers may be missing or out of date.

1. Confirm with the hospital or clinic directly that it is open, and that the department or doctor you need is available that day.
2. Ask whether you need an appointment or a serial number in advance, and what time to arrive.
3. Ask what you should bring, such as earlier reports or a referral letter.
4. Check the address and plan your route and transport, including the way back.
5. If possible, arrange for a family member or friend to come with you.

Find hospitals and clinics

Papers to bring

• An identity document, such as a national ID card, and a copy if the hospital asks for one.
• Appointment slip, serial number or booking message, if you have one.
• Referral letter, if a doctor referred you.
• Previous prescriptions, in date order.
• Earlier test reports, X-ray films, scan reports and discharge papers.
• Any hospital or patient card from earlier visits to the same hospital.

Keep the papers together in one folder or envelope, newest on top. A photo of each document on your phone is a useful backup, but bring the originals too.

Medicine details

• A written list of the medicines the patient is currently taking, with brand name, generic name, strength and form.
• The packs or strips themselves, if the list is not up to date.
• Any allergies or reactions exactly as a doctor recorded them.

How to keep your family's medicine list

Practical things

• Money or a payment method for registration, consultation and tests; ask in advance what is accepted.
• A charged phone, and phone numbers of family members written on paper too.
• A pen and notebook to write down what the doctor says, and the questions you want to ask, written before the visit.
• Water, and for a long wait, something to keep children occupied.
• For a child or an older relative, their own papers, and an adult who knows their history.

After the visit

1. Make sure you have every new prescription and report before leaving.
2. Read back what the doctor wrote, and ask if anything is unclear.
3. Add new medicines to the family medicine list, copying the instructions from the prescription.
4. Note the date of any follow-up visit.

This checklist is about logistics only. For any question about symptoms, tests or medicines, ask a registered doctor or pharmacist.