Doctor/patient

11 Pages 2779 Words

Should a doctor always tell the truth to his patient? This question may seem very simple for most of us but when we look at this question closer we can recognize that it is a real difficult problem that our doctors face in everyday life. Not telling the truth may take many forms, also has many purposes, and, of course, leads to many different consequences. Telling the truth and untruth, in fact, takes one of the common questions that our humanity tried to solve over time but unfortunately nobody knows exactly what is better: always telling the truth or concealing some information and lying.
Not telling the truth in the doctor-patient relationship requires special attention because some patients today, more than ever, experience serious harm if doctors hide some information about patient’s condition. Honesty matters for patients. They need it because they are ill, vulnerable, and they want to feel support in their relationship with doctors. Usually ill patients ask doctors some questions, which require truthful answers. But not all doctors know how to respond properly to their patients. Doctors have two choices, which they can use in their practice. For every doctor it is very important to make a proper choice to answer to the patient and be sure what kind of consequences their answer can lead to. First choice is telling the truth and the second choice is to give information that will not be so harmful for the patient. To find the best way to answer this question is not easy because all people are different and our views are also not alike. We do not know exactly how another person will react and that is why we have to think before saying anything. Usually, patients like to get good news from their doctors, but, in some cases, it’s almost impossible to get good news about their health. The lack of correct information makes a patient unable to plan his or her life. For example, if a person has cancer or any other form of illness as A...