Can I Make a Doctor’s Appointment for Someone Else?

Yes, you can make a doctor’s appointment for someone else, and medical offices handle these calls every day. Booking a visit for another person is straightforward when you have the patient’s permission, and it’s expected when you’re a parent scheduling for a minor child or an agent acting under a healthcare power of attorney. The office is reserving a time slot, not releasing medical records, so the privacy rules people worry about mostly don’t apply to the act of scheduling itself.

Whose Permission or Authority You Need

For a competent adult, a verbal go-ahead is usually enough. If your spouse, parent, sibling, or friend asks you to call and set something up, most practices will book the visit on that basis. Some offices follow up with the patient by phone or through the patient portal to confirm, but that’s an office policy choice rather than a legal requirement. Because you’re giving information to the office rather than requesting it, the privacy bar is lower than most people expect.

Parents and legal guardians can schedule for minor children without extra paperwork. Federal privacy rules treat a parent or guardian as the child’s personal representative, with essentially the same access rights as the patient, including scheduling, obtaining records, and discussing treatment with providers.

For an adult who can no longer make their own decisions because of illness, injury, or cognitive decline, someone with a healthcare power of attorney (also called a healthcare proxy or durable power of attorney for healthcare) can step in. That document gives the designated agent authority to make medical decisions, coordinate care, choose providers, and arrange where the person receives treatment. It activates when the patient is incapacitated, and the agent is treated as the patient’s personal representative under HIPAA.

When No One Has Legal Authority

Not every family has documents in place before a crisis. If your parent develops dementia or your sibling is hospitalized after an accident and no advance directive exists, you don’t automatically have authority to make medical decisions or access their records. Most states have surrogate consent laws that create a default hierarchy for medical decision-making when a patient is incapacitated and has no advance directive. The typical order is spouse, then adult children, then parents, then siblings, though priority and rules vary by state. These laws generally cover treatment decisions and may not explicitly address routine tasks like scheduling, but in practice medical offices tend to work with close family members for basic logistics such as booking a visit.

A Note on Minors and Sensitive Care

The general rule that parents control their child’s healthcare has exceptions. Under HIPAA, a parent is not treated as the minor’s personal representative when the minor lawfully consents to care on their own, when a court authorizes the care, or when the parent agrees to a confidential relationship between the child and provider.¹ Many states let minors consent independently to reproductive health services, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, or STI testing and treatment. A provider can also decline to treat a parent as the child’s personal representative if there’s a reasonable belief the child has been or may be subjected to abuse or neglect.² For a routine pediatric checkup or a broken arm, none of this matters. It comes up mainly with adolescents seeking sensitive services.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

Gathering details before you dial prevents being put on hold while you dig through a wallet for an insurance card. Have these on hand:

Patient identification. Full legal name, date of birth, current phone number, and address.
Insurance details. Insurance company name, member or policy ID number, and group number. Medicare or Medicaid card numbers if applicable.
Reason for the visit. A brief description helps the office decide how long to block out and whether the patient needs prep work such as fasting or bringing prior imaging.
Referring provider. For specialist visits, know the referring doctor’s name and whether a referral has already been submitted.
Your relationship to the patient. The front desk will ask. “I’m his daughter” or “she asked me to call” is enough for scheduling.

If the patient is new to the practice, expect a few more questions about relevant medical history, current medications, or allergies. You don’t need an exhaustive list, but the basics avoid a callback.

How to Handle the Call

Lead with the fact that you’re scheduling for someone else. Something like “I’m calling to make an appointment for my mother, Jane Smith” tells the receptionist immediately what kind of call this is. Don’t wait for them to ask.

Be specific about why the patient needs to be seen. “She’s been having knee pain for about three weeks” is far more useful than “she needs a checkup.” The more the scheduler knows, the better they can match the patient to the right provider and appointment length. If the situation is urgent, say so plainly. Offices often hold same-day slots for acute issues but won’t offer them unless you make the need clear.

Before hanging up, confirm the date, time, location, and provider name. Ask whether the patient needs to fast, arrive early for paperwork, or bring imaging from another provider. Write it all down and pass it to the patient or their caregiver.

Ask About an Interpreter

If the patient has limited English proficiency, mention it when you schedule. Under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, healthcare providers that receive federal funding must offer qualified interpreter services at no cost to the patient.³ The office cannot ask the patient to bring their own interpreter or charge them for one. Flagging the language need at scheduling gives the office time to arrange an in-person or phone interpreter for the visit.

What the Office Can Tell You Back

HIPAA’s role here is narrower than most callers expect. The law doesn’t prevent you from booking the appointment. Where it matters is when you want medical information to flow back to you.

A patient can name you as someone involved in their care, and the office can then share health information directly relevant to that involvement. The regulation allows a provider to disclose protected health information to a family member, friend, or any other person the patient identifies, as long as the information is directly relevant to that person’s involvement in the patient’s care or payment for care.⁴ The patient can agree verbally, in writing, or by not objecting when the provider offers the chance. When the patient is incapacitated or not present, the provider can use professional judgment to decide whether sharing information with you is in the patient’s best interest, limited to what’s directly relevant to your involvement.

For broader access, such as reviewing the chart or getting detailed test results, expect the office to ask for personal representative status or a signed HIPAA authorization from the patient.⁵

Setting Up Patient Portal Proxy Access

If you’re regularly managing someone’s care, the cleanest long-term arrangement is proxy access through the patient portal. Most large health systems let a patient designate someone to schedule appointments, view upcoming visits, message providers, and sometimes see test results. Some systems let the patient invite you directly through the portal by entering your name and email, and you link the account after confirming the relationship.⁶ Others require an in-person visit with identification and a signed form. You generally need to be at least 18 to hold proxy access.

For parents of young children, portal access is usually automatic and covers appointments, medications, immunizations, and test results. Many systems restrict what parents can see as children reach adolescence, often shifting access levels around age 12 and again at 18, though the thresholds depend on the health system and state law. Once a child turns 18, proxy access typically expires and the now-adult patient must grant it again.

Missed-Appointment Fees

If you schedule an appointment and the patient doesn’t show up, someone may owe a fee. Many practices charge between $25 and $100 for missed appointments, and some specialists charge more. The fee compensates for the lost time slot, not for the cost of the service.

The patient is almost always the one on the hook, since the financial relationship is between the patient and the provider. That’s worth thinking about if you’re coordinating care for someone who may forget or struggle with transportation. Put the appointment on the patient’s calendar with a reminder, confirm the visit a day or two beforehand, and make sure a ride is lined up. If the patient can’t make it, cancel with enough notice to avoid the fee, typically 24 to 48 hours depending on the office. Practices that charge no-show fees are required to have a written policy and apply it consistently, and most communicate the policy during intake. Ask about it when you’re scheduling for someone new to a practice.

Emergency and Urgent Situations

When someone needs immediate medical attention and can’t act for themselves, the usual consent and scheduling rules loosen. Emergency rooms treat patients based on implied consent, meaning the law presumes a reasonable person would consent to life-saving treatment. You don’t need a power of attorney or signed forms to bring someone to an ER or call 911.

For urgent but non-emergency situations, most offices and urgent care centers will work with you to get the patient seen quickly. Explain honestly what’s going on. If the patient is confused, in severe pain, or otherwise unable to manage the logistics, say that. The office’s priority is getting the patient appropriate care, not policing who made the phone call.