Make a medication & allergy list to bring to every appointment
Type your medicines, allergies, conditions and doctors once and get a tidy, printable PDF you can hand to reception, attach to a new-patient packet or keep in your wallet. It's free, there's no account, and nothing you type leaves this browser tab.
The list maker is free. Already subscribed to the signer? Sign in
Next: sign it, or attach it to your forms
If your clinic wants the list signed, or you're adding it to a new-patient packet, open the downloaded PDF in the PatientSignPDF signer. It runs in your browser too.
Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by Joe Farwick, who runs this site
Why a written list beats remembering
The FDA recommends keeping a list that shows the name and strength of each medicine, what you take it for and when, how and how much you take — together with your allergies and emergency contacts — and carrying a copy with you. MedlinePlus adds that every provider should get a copy and that the list is worth going through at each appointment.
In practice, the medication box on an intake form is a few lines long, and the things people forget are the ones they don't think of as medicine: the allergy tablet taken every spring, a sleep aid, fish oil, an eye drop. In an emergency you may not be able to answer questions at all, which is why the list belongs with whoever might speak for you.
What to write on each line
Name: copy it exactly from the label. If the pharmacy label shows both a brand and a generic name, you can write both, for example “Glucophage (metformin)”.
Dose or strength: the label gives the strength of one tablet or puff, such as 500 mg. If you take more than one at a time, write it the way you take it: “500 mg tablet, take 2”. For creams and drops, note where they go (“left eye”, “thin layer on elbows”).
How often: be specific. “8 a.m. and 8 p.m.” is clearer than “twice a day”; “as needed, no more than 3 a day” is clearer than “when required”. What it's for: in your own words — “blood pressure”, “thyroid”, “knee pain”.
Allergies, reactions and side effects
The National Institute on Aging suggests telling your doctor and pharmacist about allergies and about problems you've had with other medicines — rashes, trouble breathing, indigestion, dizziness or mood changes — and making sure they have an up-to-date allergy list.
Write down what happened and roughly when, for example “penicillin — hives, 2011” or “codeine — severe nausea”. You don't need to decide whether it was a true allergy; that's for the clinician to judge. If you have no known allergies, tick the box so the PDF says so explicitly — an empty allergy section only tells staff that nobody filled it in.
Entries that trip people up
Not every medicine is daily. Write weekly injections, “Mondays and Thursdays” schedules or monthly tablets exactly as prescribed. If a dose is being stepped up or down, write today's dose and add “changing — see note”.
Medicines you stopped recently belong in the notes with the month you stopped, because clinicians often ask about them. Include samples your doctor handed you and anything prescribed by a different doctor or a dentist.
The PDF uses a standard font that covers English and Western European letters. Letters such as ł or ő are simplified, and other alphabets can't be shown; the tool tells you which entries were affected so you can retype them in Latin letters.
Keeping the list current
The FDA's advice is to review the list often and update it whenever something changes — a new prescription, a different dose or a medicine you've stopped. A good habit is to update it after every appointment and after any hospital stay, and to bring it along if you are admitted.
Because this tool saves your entries inside the PDF, updating takes a minute: open the list maker, choose “Update a list made here”, pick your last PDF, edit, and download. The date on the list changes to today. Throw away old printouts so nobody works from an outdated copy.
Using the list with new-patient forms
When an intake form asks you to list every medicine, you can fill in the main ones and write “see attached list” — but ask the practice first whether it accepts attachments. Some want everything on their own form; others are glad to scan a typed page.
If they want the list signed, make it with the signature line, open the PDF in the PatientSignPDF signer, sign and date it, and send it along with your other forms through the channel the practice gives you, ideally its patient portal.
What happens to what you type
Nothing is uploaded: the form, the PDF and the re-opening all run in your browser, and closing the tab clears the form. The downloaded PDF is a medical document, though, so store it where you'd keep other health papers and share it only with people who need it.
The copy saved inside the file is simply what you typed into this form, stored so the tool can read it back. It holds nothing beyond the details you entered.
Ten minutes with your medicine cabinet
Work from the labels rather than from memory — that's where most list mistakes come from.
- 1
Gather everything you take
Prescription bottles, inhalers, eye drops, patches and injections, plus the vitamins, herbal products and pain relievers you buy yourself.
- 2
Copy each label onto a row
Name, strength, how often you really take it and what it's for. Then add each allergy and the reaction it caused.
- 3
Download and keep copies
Create the PDF, print one for your wallet, keep one on your phone and give one to the person who would speak for you in an emergency.
What this list maker does differently
Allergies print first
They sit at the top in a highlighted table, because staff look for them before giving you anything.
Update instead of retyping
Your entries are saved inside the PDF you download. Next time, choose “Update a list made here”, change what's new and download a fresh copy.
Real text, not a photo
The PDF contains searchable text, so a clinic can copy a drug name instead of deciphering handwriting.
US Letter or A4
Long lists continue onto extra pages with the table headings repeated and page numbers in the footer.
Optional signature line
Some practices want you to sign that your list is complete. Tick the option, then sign the PDF in our signer.
Private by design
Entries aren't sent anywhere or kept in browser storage. Your own browser builds the PDF.
Medication list questions
What does it cost?+
Nothing. Creating, downloading and updating your list is free with no account. Only signing it in our separate PDF signer is paid: you can try the signer free, and downloading a signed PDF takes a subscription at €2.99 a month or €24.99 a year, cancellable anytime and running until the end of the period you paid for.
Do you keep a copy of my list?+
No. We never receive it. The list exists only in your browser tab until you download the PDF, and in the file you save.
Can I make a list for my child or a parent I look after?+
Yes. Enter their name and details instead of yours. If the practice wants the list signed, sign it as parent or caregiver and write your relationship next to your signature.
Does the tool check doses or drug interactions?+
No. It only lays out what you type. Ask your pharmacist or doctor to go through the list with you — that review is where problems get caught.
Should I still bring my medicine containers?+
If your clinic asks you to bring them, yes. A typed list is a companion to that review, not a replacement for it.
Why can't I re-open a list I printed to PDF from another app?+
Only the original file downloaded from this page contains the saved entries. Scans, photos and files re-printed to PDF lose them, so keep the original download.
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Your medicines and allergies on one page in a few minutes. Nothing leaves your device.
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