Doctors overlook sexual histories too often.

Despite 20 years of HIV/AIDS, despite blatantly sexual content in prime time television programming, despite adult-content shows like HBO's "Sex and the City," and despite the easy availability of pornographic pictures and literature on the Internet, American clinicians and their patients still remain squeamish when it comes to discussing sexual activity. At least that's one conclusion that can be drawn from research that suggests physicians often fail to screen their patients for STDs or to assess their risk for HIV infection through sexual activity.