I’m going to start a list, compiled from my much-too-frequent interactions with physicians and other healthcare professionals, of things that these professionals say and do that they probably shouldn’t. Some sound funny, but are still potentially problematic.

* When you go see your OB/GYN before becoming sexually active after a break, and you ask the doctor what kind of birth control you should use, the doctor should not cackle and say words that include “dessicated eggs”.

* Likewise, when the patient, newly sexually active (again) walks into her primary care practice with a bladder infection (honeymoon cystitis, they call it), there should be no giggling from the staff. And when you come back two weeks later with another bladder infection, there should be no outright laughter.

* When refer a patient to a specialist who sometimes works with cancer patients, but sometimes doesn’t, and that patient isn’t someone you think has cancer, don’t send materials with a return address of the local cancer institute, including DVDs and support information from the cancer care social workers. It will freak the patient out.

* Don’t make assumptions about what kind of risk your patient will take to get better. I blogged about this before. I have risked kidney failure, liver cancer, MS, various cancers, sudden gastric bleeds, and sudden cardiac incidents with some of my meds. Sometimes, the risk gets too high, at least for my healthcare providers, and they remove a medication from their arsenal. There are days when I’d risk kidney failure to feel less pain. You should let me determine the appropriate amount of risk.

What do doctors and other providers do that bugs you? What should they know to make your experience better?