Most care decisions come with tradeoffs. One option may take more of your time, another may come with different side effects, and another may cost more. Before you talk through options with your clinician, rank the three things that matter most to you. Then bring questions that connect each option to those priorities.
This guide gives you a simple worksheet for doing that. It builds on public resources from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). It will not tell you which option to choose. It helps you walk in prepared to have that conversation.
If you or someone near you may be having a medical emergency, skip the worksheet and call 911 or your local emergency number right away.
By Better Health Questions Editorial Team
Last updated: September 23, 2026
Terms to Know
- Tradeoff: Giving up some of one thing to get more of another. For example, an option might ask for more visits in exchange for something else you care about.
- Option: One of the possible paths your care team describes for your situation.
- Alternative: Another option besides the one first suggested. AHRQ lists “Are there any alternatives?” as one of its 10 questions for patients.
- Side effect: An unwanted effect of a medicine or treatment. AHRQ suggests asking, “Are there any side effects?”
- Complication: A problem that can happen during or after a test, procedure, or treatment. AHRQ suggests asking, “What are the possible complications?”
- Interaction: When one medicine changes how another medicine works. AHRQ suggests asking whether a new medicine will interact with the ones you already take.
- Priority: Something that matters to you in this decision, such as time, cost, comfort, or staying independent. Only you can name your priorities.
Facts, Concerns, and Priorities: Three Different Things to Bring
A good care conversation mixes three kinds of information. They come from different places, so it helps to keep them apart.
1. Facts about the options (your care team explains these)
- Why a treatment is being suggested (AHRQ: “Why do I need this treatment?”)
- What other paths exist (AHRQ: “Are there any alternatives?”)
- Possible side effects and complications (AHRQ)
- Whether a medicine may interact with the medicines you already take (AHRQ)
- What a test is for and when results will come back (AHRQ)
2. Your health story (you bring this)
- Your concerns, organized ahead of time. NIA’s worksheet “Prioritizing concerns to share with your doctor” is designed to help you organize your thoughts about any health or other concerns you want to discuss.
- Changes in your life since your last appointment. NIA offers a worksheet called “Life changes to discuss with your doctor.”
- The medicines you take, including prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, and vitamins. NIA offers a worksheet called “Tracking your medications.”
3. Your ranked priorities (this guide adds this step)
- The few things that matter most to you in this decision, in order
- Anything that would make an option very hard for you to live with
- A question tied to each priority, so the conversation stays on what matters to you
The first two groups come from the NIA and AHRQ resources listed below. The third is our editorial method for connecting them. It is a practical way to organize your thinking, not a clinical tool.
Step-by-Step Field Guide: Ranking What Matters Most
- Write the decision in one sentence. Keep it simple, like “Deciding between the options my clinician described for my knee.” If you are not sure what the options are yet, write that down as your first question.
- List and prioritize your concerns. Use NIA’s “Prioritizing concerns to share with your doctor” worksheet or a blank page. Write down worries and practical problems, even ones that feel small.
- Note what has changed. A new job, a move, new caregiving duties, or a change in how you feel can all affect what matters to you now. NIA’s “Life changes to discuss with your doctor” worksheet is made for this.
- Update your medication list. Include prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, and vitamins, as NIA’s “Tracking your medications” worksheet suggests. This helps your care team answer AHRQ’s question about interactions.
- Brainstorm what could matter. Read the prompts in the next section and circle every one that applies to you. Add your own.
- Rank your top three. Put the most important priority first. If one item would be a deal-breaker, mark it clearly.
- Match each priority to a question. Use the question bank below. Each top priority should have at least one question tied to it.
- Bring it and share it early. Early in the visit, say something like: “These are the three things that matter most to me. Can you help me understand how each option affects them?”
- Revisit your ranking later. Priorities can change as you learn more or as your life changes. Update your list before your next visit.
Priority Prompts: What Might Matter to You?
These are examples to get you thinking. They are not recommendations, and none is more “correct” than another.
- How I feel day to day while on this option
- Possible side effects or complications I most want to avoid
- Time away from work, school, or caregiving
- How many visits, tests, or trips it takes
- What I may have to pay out of pocket (ask your plan or billing office, since this varies)
- Keeping my independence and usual routines
- How soon I will know what a test shows or whether something is working
- How this fits with the other medicines I take
- How it affects my family or the people who help care for me
- Something else that matters to me: ____________
Question Bank: Connect Each Priority to a Clear Question
The questions in quotation marks come from AHRQ’s list of 10 questions. The follow-ups are our suggestions for tying each one to your ranked priorities.
- If your priority is understanding the reason: “Why do I need this treatment?” Follow-up: “What would change if I chose a different option?”
- If your priority is having choices: “Are there any alternatives?” Follow-up: “How do the alternatives compare on the things I ranked highest?”
- If your priority is comfort or daily life: “Are there any side effects?” and “What are the possible complications?” Follow-up: “Which of these would most affect my daily routine?”
- If your priority is fitting with your current medicines: “Will this medicine interact with medicines that I’m already taking?” Follow-up: “Can we go through my medication list together?”
- If your priority is knowing where you stand: “What is the test for?” and “When will I get the results?” Follow-up: “How will the results affect my options?”
- If your priority is getting names right: “How do you spell the name of that drug?” Write it down so you can look it up in trusted sources later.
- If your priority is where care happens or who does it: “Which hospital is best for my needs?” and “How many times have you done this procedure?”
Your One-Page Ranking Worksheet
Copy this onto paper or into a notes app and bring it with you.
- The decision: ____________
- Priority #1: ____________ My question about it: ____________
- Priority #2: ____________ My question about it: ____________
- Priority #3: ____________ My question about it: ____________
- Deal-breaker (if any): ____________
- Top concern: ____________
- Changes since last visit: ____________
- Medication list attached? Yes / No
- Notes from the visit: ____________
What This Ranking Can and Cannot Do
- It can help you explain what matters to you, keep the conversation focused, and remember your questions.
- It cannot tell you which option is right, predict how any option will work for you, or replace your care team’s medical judgment.
- Facts about risks, benefits, and alternatives for your situation should come from your clinician, who knows your health history.
- Your ranking is yours. It is fine if it differs from someone else’s, and fine if it changes over time.
Where These Resources Come From
- National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health: Talking With Your Doctor Worksheets. NIA describes these worksheets as a way to organize your questions, family and medical history, and information when talking with your doctor. They include worksheets for recording family health history, choosing a new doctor, life changes to discuss, prioritizing concerns, and tracking medications. Content reviewed June 10, 2021.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): The 10 Questions You Should Know. Part of AHRQ’s Questions Are the Answer initiative, which highlights the role patients and families can play as part of their own healthcare teams. Page last reviewed November 2020.
The priority prompts, ranking steps, and one-page worksheet in this article were created by the Better Health Questions Editorial Team to help readers use these public resources. NIA and AHRQ did not create or review them.
Important Information About This Article
This article is general educational information. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not replace a conversation with a qualified health professional. Do not start, stop, or change any medicine or treatment based on this article. Talk with your care team about decisions for your own health. In an emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Better Health Questions is an independent educational publication. It is not affiliated with any organization that used this domain before, and it does not provide medical care, representation, or advocacy services.