Originally published Feb. 3, 2020. Updated March 19, 2020, to include new downloads covering questions to ask if you're diagnosed with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

A new diagnosis can be overwhelming. You might have questions and concerns about treatment, insurance, healthcare costs, and more. There’s a lot to keep track of, and it will be important to have your records organized and easily available. To help you and your family adjust and to minimize some of the questions and paperwork that you’ll have, our healthcare professionals suggest that you create a binder that gathers all health-related information in one place.

The Diplomat Health Binder features documents to download, print out, and fill in to help you organize your information and prepare for doctor appointments:

• Emergency information and medical contact numbers: Put all your contact information in one place for reference or in case of an emergency.
• Questions for My Doctor: Write down questions for your doctor about your treatment and your diagnosis. We’ve included space to write the answers to help you keep track of your treatment.
• A full year and monthly calendar templates: Never miss an appointment or your medication.
• Diagnosis and Medications Tracker: Keep track of all substances you’re taking, including any over-the-counter drugs or prescribed medications.
• Symptom and Side-Effect Tracker: Record any side effects you experience while on treatment, so you can accurately report them to your doctor.
• Terms to Know: We’ve defined some common healthcare and insurance terms that you’re likely to encounter. 

Download all binder resources.

If you have breast cancer or prostate cancer, please refer to these questions to ask your doctor:

• Breast Cancer Questions
• Prostate Cancer Questions

If you have ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, please refer to these questions to ask your doctor:

• Ulcerative Colitis Questions
• Crohn’s Disease Questions

To download an activity packet with puzzles and coloring pages to help prepare a child for a doctor visit, click here:

• Diplomat Health Activities for Kids

Creating Your Health Binder

No matter what your condition is, with these core documents you can modify your binder to include additional materials that can help you along your treatment journey. Health binders can be used to store all of your important healthcare documents in one place for ease of organization. Add information about your medical history, appointment cards, legal documents such as advanced directives, and more.

You can organize your binder to best suit your needs. We recommend that you:

• Divide the binder into sections. Make sure to store all related materials together. You can even color code sections for quick reference.
• Protect documents using clear sheet protectors. This will prevent materials from becoming worn or soiled. Clear protectors will also provide easy visibility.
• Add or update content to the binder when needed. Insurance changes or modifications in treatment can occur at any time. If this happens, be sure to add updated information — whether it’s a new insurance card or changes to your medications — to your health binder.
• Remove and shred outdated or old documents. This will prevent your binder from becoming too bulky.