Wednesday, February 17, 2010

What patients dislike about IVF doctors

One of the commonest complaints patients have about their IVF treatment is how secretive most IVF clinics are about the treatment. Many doctors deliberately obfuscate and do not provide any clarity regarding the plan of action. Everything seems to be done on an ad-hoc day to day basis, so the patient is often completely clueless about what is going to happen next.

It's often hard to talk to the doctor ( who is very busy) , which means most decisions seem to be taken either by the nurses or the assistants. Even basic information ( how many follicles are growing on the ultrasound scan ? how many eggs were retrieved during the egg collection ?) is not provided - and the commonest answer the sonographer or assistant provides is - the doctor will explain to you ( but the doctor is never available ! )

Even after the treatment is over, patients are not given a printed treatment summary. No photos of embryos are provided, which means most patients are completely in the dark about the fate of their eggs and embryos - and what went right and what went wrong.

It's high time IVF patients started insisting on clear documentation ! It's best to do this before the cycle starts ( before you part with your money !)

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