Erectile dysfunction sits in a particular category of sensitive topics: many male patients experience it as a direct hit to identity, not just a symptom, and a poorly worded question can make a patient feel diagnosed with a personal failing rather than assessed for a...
One opening line doesn’t fit every consult. The general-purpose script covered elsewhere in this series works well as a default, but a few common consult types benefit from a more tailored opening, one that borrows credibility from whatever brought the patient...
You’ve asked the opening question, and the patient’s face changes. A flicker of surprise, a look away, a stiffening in the chair. This is a normal, common response, and it is also the exact moment many GPs lose their nerve and quietly change the subject....
The previous article looked at why routine, non-sexual-health consults are the most commonly missed opportunity to raise sexual health. This one is the practical follow-up: the actual wording for turning three of the most common routine visits into a natural opening,...
A patient comes in for a repeat pill script, a blood pressure check, or a pre-travel consult. Nothing about the presentation suggests a sexual health conversation is needed. This is exactly the type of consult where the conversation is most likely to be skipped, and...
