The Anova NGO, which works with gay and bisexual men, has started a campaign to identify doctors that men who are gay and straight can talk to about anal sex without feeling judged or embarrassed.
This is because men who have sex with men are at high risk of HIV, but men are also far less likely than women to go to doctors or test for HIV.
Asking about sexual history is not always easy for doctors either and a fair number of men who have sex with men also have girlfriends or wives, or identify as straight men, said Jane Waithaka, consultant at Anova.
Men who identify as straight but have male lovers may not be comfortable mentioning this to their doctors.
In addition, doctors are not always comfortable asking probing questions, especially during a quick appointment with a waiting room full of patients, she said.
The NGO started a pilot project to contact 100 GPs randomly selected from the Johannesburg CBD area, Soweto, Sandton and Fourways, to hand out material on men who have sex with men.
So many doctors were interested in learning about how to communicate about gay sex to patients that they talked to 350 in six months.
Forty doctors wanted nothing to do with the project but 60 were very interested in sexual health and are known as "yellow dot doctors" who can now be found on the Anova website.
Anova says the yellow dots signify doctors who are "unfreakoutable" by the questions they can be asked.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 