Yes—many do. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Some doctors interpret patient questions as a challenge to their authority rather than as a sign of engagement. This mindset belongs to an outdated, paternalistic model of medicine where the doctor talks and the patient listens quietly. IVF, unfortunately, still attracts its fair share of such thinking.
I don’t subscribe to this approach. IVF is not a religion, and doctors are not priests.
Do you prefer patients who ask questions?
Absolutely. In fact, I prefer them.
Patients who ask questions are thinking, reading, and trying to understand their treatment. This tells me they are invested in the process and willing to take responsibility for their decisions. These patients almost always have more realistic expectations from IVF—and that alone improves the treatment experience.
Blind faith in medicine is not a virtue. Informed participation is.
Does asking questions mean the patient doesn’t trust the doctor?
No. Asking questions means the patient respects themselves.
Trust does not mean surrendering your brain at the clinic door. IVF is complex, emotionally draining, expensive, and uncertain. Patients have every right—and responsibility—to understand what is being done to their bodies and why.
A good doctor welcomes questions. A fragile ego doesn’t.
Why is patient education so important in IVF?
Because IVF outcomes are probabilistic, not guaranteed.
When patients understand the limitations of IVF, they are far less likely to feel cheated, angry, or betrayed if a cycle fails. Knowledge doesn’t eliminate disappointment, but it prevents unrealistic hope—and false hope is the most cruel thing a doctor can sell.
Well-informed patients cope better with uncertainty. That alone makes the IVF journey emotionally safer.
Do all IVF questions need to be answered by the doctor personally?
No—and this is where many patients misunderstand my approach.
I am very happy to answer thoughtful, specific, and personalised questions. What I am not happy to do is act as a human Google search engine. That’s inefficient for both of us.
Basic IVF questions—about AMH, egg numbers, embryo grading, implantation rates, or common myths—can and should be answered before you see me.
Why do you ask patients to use your chatbot first?
Because your time—and mine—matters.
My chatbot is powered by my 40 years of IVF clinical experience and answers most common questions accurately, consistently, and without time pressure. It allows patients to learn at their own pace, revisit answers, and come prepared.
This flips the consultation model:
- The chatbot handles general education
- I handle personalised medical decision-making
- That’s how modern medicine should work.
Isn’t this a way of avoiding patient interaction?
Quite the opposite.
By offloading basic questions to the chatbot, our consultation time becomes deeper, more meaningful, and more individualised. Instead of repeating the same explanations endlessly, I can focus on what actually matters for you—your ovaries, your embryos, your past history, and your goals.
Technology should enhance the doctor–patient relationship, not replace it.
What kind of questions should be reserved for the doctor?
Questions that are:
- Specific to your medical history
- Based on previous treatment outcomes
- About choosing between options
- About risks, trade-offs, and consequences
- About what you should do next
- If the chatbot can’t answer it, I definitely will.
What is your one request from IVF patients?
Don’t expect to be spoon-fed.
IVF works best when patients are partners, not passive recipients. I will guide you, advise you, and support you—but I will not think on your behalf. Ultimately, you live with the consequences of your decisions, not me.
My job is to help you make informed choices, not to make choices for you.
How does this approach benefit patients in the long run?
Informed patients:
- Waste less money on unnecessary tests
- Avoid false hope and miracle claims
- Ask better questions
- Make decisions they can live with
- Feel empowered rather than helpless
- IVF is hard enough. Ignorance makes it harder.
What should patients do if they want to start asking better IVF questions?
Start by educating yourself—properly, scientifically, and honestly.
Please get your doubts resolved free using our chatbot which is powered by AI based on Dr Malpani’s 40 years of clinical expertise and experience at 👉 https://www.drmalpani.com/chat-w-chatbot/index.html
This will ensure you’re on the right path and potentially save significant costs in the long run—financially, emotionally, and medically.
Because the smartest IVF patient is not the one who asks no questions, but the one who asks the right ones.