By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
    September 10, 2025
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    5 Basic Types Of Eye Tests That Are Part Of An Eye Exam
    September 24, 2018
    Knowledge About Malpractice Lawsuits Can Give You Some Peace | Healthcare Career Resources
    Knowledge About Malpractice Lawsuits Can Give You Some Peace
    September 18, 2020
    How Your Job Can Impact Your Health
    December 11, 2018
    Latest News
    Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
    September 9, 2025
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Do Physicians Lie?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Medical Ethics > Do Physicians Lie?
Medical Ethics

Do Physicians Lie?

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
5 Min Read
physician ethics
SHARE

Yes.  Professions that heretofore enjoyed public admiration for pursuing noble work and reputedly insisting on the highest ethical standards have been exposed. The Catholic Church could write a few blog posts on this. Police officers, journalists and even teachers have also shown us that they are members of the human species and are subject to its weaknesses and frailties.

Yes.  Professions that heretofore enjoyed public admiration for pursuing noble work and reputedly insisting on the highest ethical standards have been exposed. The Catholic Church could write a few blog posts on this. Police officers, journalists and even teachers have also shown us that they are members of the human species and are subject to its weaknesses and frailties.

physician ethics
George Washington Cannot Tell a Lie
 
The fallacy is to expect certain professions and professionals to be more irreproachable than the rest of us.  We are all vulnerable to experiencing a fall from grace.  Staying straight and true is a struggle, at least for me. 
Yes, physicians lie. 
Sometimes, we rationalize a falsehood because it serves a patient’s interest.  We ‘adjust’ a diagnosis so that the medical test is covered by insurance.  Explain to me please why this is not stealing?  Is this different from shoplifting?  Why should the offense change depending upon who the victim is?  Many folks believe that stealing from the phone company or insurance companies isn’t really stealing.
Sometimes we physicians massage the truth in order to sanitize a grim prognosis.  While I’m not ready to brand these physicians as liars, this tactic falls somewhat short of the truth.  I have been culpable of this.  It’s not as easy as it sounds to get this right.  How much information do we divulge?  Does it all need to come out in the first conversation?  Are we always so sure that the patient before us won’t respond to treatment, even if the medical data suggests an ominous road ahead?  How many patients have we heard of whom were told they had 6 months to live and proved the doctors wrong?  How did these folks feel each day they woke up beyond the 6 month marker? 
This past week, I heard of a physician whopper that broke the record.  A consultant was asked to see a patient in the hospital.  This physician had an active relationship with a different consultant in the same specialty. (If a cardiologist, for example, is asked to see a patient in the hospital and discovers that the patient already has a cardiologist, the first cardiologist should step aside and notify the patient’s true cardiologist that the patient needs his medical services. This act would be included in the category called, Doing the Right Thing.) When this consultant greeted the patient, the she asked to see her own consultant and even presented her consultant’s business card to the doctor.  The physician told the patient that her consultant did not have attending privileges at the hospital and did not even perform the procedure that was being contemplated.  Both of these assertions were demonstrably false.  After the patient was discharged and followed up in the office with her consultant, the matter was exposed.  The patient has filed a grievance.
Of course, there are rogue elements in every occupation and institution.  We should not permit an entire profession to be sullied by aberrational behavior.  Sure, some teachers have helped students cheat on standardized tests and some cops have planted evidence.  But most folks, I hope and pray, are doing the right thing.
We are all vulnerable to temptation, greed, ethical erosion, self-righteousness and tortured rationalizations to justify our problematic behaviors.  The ends often don’t justify the means. My point is not to tarnish my own profession, but to present it as a human endeavor.  We physicians are human and need to struggle to do right just like everyone else.  And that’s no lie. 
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

medical malpractice
Global HealthcareMedical EthicsPolicy & Law

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Timeline: 4 Things To Remember

November 22, 2021
digital patient
eHealthMedical EducationMedical EthicsPublic Health

Collaborating with Patients in the Digital Information Age

April 23, 2014
Health careMedical EducationMedical EthicsPublic Health

The Importance Of Using Professional Medical Translators

August 14, 2018

NCOA Publishes 10 Senior Scams to Beware

March 1, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?