In the News – Doctors Not Always Honest with Patients

Snippet from the article:

Trust your doctor? A survey finds that some doctors aren’t always completely honest with their patients.

More than half admitted describing someone’s prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn’t fully disclosed a medical mistake for fear of being sued. And 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they’d told a patient something that wasn’t true in the past year.

The survey, by Massachusetts researchers and published in this month’s Health Affairs, doesn’t explain why, or what wasn’t true.

Read the rest — Study finds MDs not always honest with patients

The results are based on a survey of over 1800 doctors across the US from 2009, “to see if they agree with and follow certain standards medical professionalism issued in 2002”. In another study, doctors suggested that they color the truth with presenting issues on the seriousness of illnesses more positive than it is.

In a recent symposium I (Rassman) attended, the doctors in the audience were asked how many of them would not discuss dying with their patients. More than half raised their hands. When probed why, the doctors cited issues like (a) the time it takes to manage a dying patient is significantly more than they can allot, and (b) they are uncomfortable in dealing with death and dying.