What belongs in a report for the doctor: five rules, an example, and the PDFs Sam creates

A report for your doctor should fit on a few pages and follow five rules: the time range at the top, two or three key figures, each number with a time window, the course by month, and everything marked as self-recorded. In Sam these reports come as PDFs from your own entries and from what Apple Health already records, one doctor report per program and the monthly report for symptom days, and you bring them yourself. This text lays out the five rules, shows an example with invented figures, and describes what the two PDFs contain.

What a good report for the practice contains

An appointment is short. A report should be readable in about a minute. Five rules help:

• Time range first. Without knowing from when to when the report runs, no number can be read.
• Key figures before detail. Two or three numbers sit at the top; the entries follow later.
• Each number with a time window or a denominator. "23 symptom days" says little; "23 symptom days in 104 days" can be discussed.
• Course by month. Five months side by side show more than the state of today.
• Marked as self-recorded. The practice sees what you entered and what a device measured.

An empty day means only that there is no entry. A good report says that openly.

So a figure reads with its window. The values below are invented and come from no real report:

• Report period: 1 July to 12 October 2026
• Symptom days: 23 in 104 days
• Days with an entry, last 30 days: 19 of 30

Which period the practice wants is its decision. Some practices use their own forms, so ask briefly. The British Heart Foundation's blood pressure chart is a 25-week diary, while the Migraine Trust's headache diary is monthly. If a practice wants its own form, fill that in; your report can sit beside it.

Why the report must be readable in a minute

Consultation time is limited worldwide. A 2017 review in BMJ Open, covering 67 countries and more than 28 million consultations, found average consultation length ranged from about a minute in Bangladesh to 22.5 minutes in Sweden. Eighteen countries, around half of the world's population, spend five minutes or less with their primary care doctor. Appointment lengths vary by practice and country, so ask how long you will have.

A one-minute report gives the conversation a head start. The time range and the key figures are already on the page, so the appointment is about what they mean, not about reconstructing them.

The doctor report: one PDF per program

The doctor report exists in Sam's programs for high blood pressure, migraine, epilepsy, panic disorder, asthma, hay fever, reflux and gout. You start a program, a diary for one condition with its own doctor report as a PDF, after confirming that your doctor has diagnosed that condition. In the app the report carries a different name per program, such as blood pressure report or asthma control report.

You choose how far back the report reaches: one, three, six or twelve months, or the whole record. Three months is the default. With monthly options the start sits on the first of a month so the month bars are full months. If your record started later, the report begins with your first entry.

The first page is meant for the first minute of the visit. On it sits "self-recorded from the Sam app", the report period and the creation date, the key figures at a glance with a time window, the month bars, a section for the program's monthly questionnaire if you filled it in, and a last-30-days view where relevant.

The details of your program begin on a new page. After that comes the diary by month, showing the 30 most recent entries, with a note when there are more. In the blood pressure report, measured context such as weight, sleep and resting pulse appears with the number of days with data, and the report notes that no causal link is implied.

The monthly report: the second document

The monthly report is a different document. It belongs to no medical program. It shows wellness data such as sleep, activity and stress, plus your illness and symptom days, and a list of the lab results from your medical documents that fall in the report month. On the website that area is the Health Vault. Data from the medical programs is not in it.

For the report to appear, you allow notifications, share Apple Health with values from the last seven days in at least three areas, and answer the question about your conditions, where "none" counts too. From the second report, you also need entries on at least 15 of the last 30 days saying how you felt (good, a bit off or sick).

The symptom diary has no PDF of its own. Your symptom days appear in the monthly report. A diary with details for every entry exists only in the doctor report of a program.

Several conditions: one report per program

Each program makes its own PDF. There is no shared report for all your conditions, because each program has its own diary, its own monthly questionnaire and its own doctor report. To an appointment you bring the report that fits that practice. For people ordering several conditions, managing multiple conditions and keeping records shows the pattern.

How to hand over the report

In a program you open the doctor report and choose the period. Then you tap "create and share the PDF". You see a preview and share the file through the iOS share sheet of your iPhone, for example to a printer or a mail app. You can also show the PDF on your phone. The PDF icon on the program page skips the selection and exports the whole record.

Sam sends nothing to your practice. Ask in advance whether it prefers the file digitally or on paper, and in doubt bring both. Whether the practice uses the report is its own decision.

For the start, two sentences are enough: "This is my record since July, kept myself in an app. The numbers are at the top, and I would like to talk about the last three months." More preparation is in the doctor appointment checklist for a chronic condition. For a broader view of what a tool can do, what a health app can and cannot do is worth a read.

What a report cannot do

The interpretation stays with your doctor. The report shows what you entered. In some programs Sam places values beside your entries, such as recent sleep from Apple Health in migraine, or air quality and pollen in asthma when you share your location. What you do not enter is missing. An empty log does not mean nothing happened, and the report does not replace a conversation.

Sam's reports have limits. There is no shared PDF for several programs and no CSV export. What the numbers mean is a topic for your practice. Before you start a routine of home records, the symptom diary guide shows what belongs in a daily record.

Create a doctor report in Sam from your entries and Apple Health

You go to the appointment with a report where the time range, the figures and the course are already arranged.

• Against trusting memory: Sam lays your course into the doctor report by month, most key figures with a time window.
• Against Apple Health alone: in some programs sleep, resting pulse and steps from Apple Health stand beside your entries, and you enter only what you know yourself.
• Against paper and screenshots: you see a preview and share the PDF through the share sheet, or show it on your phone.
• Against a rough list: the first page is built for the first minute, with the period and the key numbers at the top.

The doctor report exists in the programs for conditions a doctor has diagnosed. What the figures mean, you discuss with your doctor.

Try Sam for free

Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. The app does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or health state. Always consult qualified professionals for medical decisions.

Related reading

• Symptom diary: template or app
• Managing multiple conditions and keeping records
• Doctor appointment checklist for a chronic condition
• Your own health record vs a health app

Sources

Updated: October 2026

• Irving G, et al: International variations in primary care physician consultation time: a systematic review of 67 countries. BMJ Open 2017;7:e017902
• British Heart Foundation: Your blood pressure chart and diary
• The Migraine Trust: Keeping a headache diary