The challenge of talking about sex: the importance of patient-physician interaction.

Sexuality is a complex phenomenon, with physical, psychological, and social components. In evaluating and counselling the patient with sexual problems, it is important for the physician to communicate effectively and to be open to the patient's own experience of sexuality. This paper provides an overview of important issues related to evaluation of these patients and presents a stepwise approach to the clinical evaluation suitable to the limited time frame of a medical consultation.