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
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Honesty in Medicine: Do Doctors Tell the Truth?
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 > Honesty in Medicine: Do Doctors Tell the Truth?
Medical Ethics

Honesty in Medicine: Do Doctors Tell the Truth?

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE
Did Washington Chop Down the Cherry Tree?
Did Washington Chop Down the Cherry Tree?
Courtesy of National Archives

…resolve to be honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer.

No need to identify the authorship of the above quotation, which should be known by all discerning readers, such as those who feast on the weekly Whistleblower offering. For those who have suffered a cognitive lapse, I will provide 4 identity clues. Take a guess after each clue. If after the 4th clue, you are still clueless, then politely request a 5th and 6th clue in the comments section, and they will be provided to you.

(1) He had a high pitched voice.

(2) He was prone to depression and melancholy.

More Read

4 Car Accident Injury Tips To Get The Compensation You Deserve
Crucial Steps to Safeguard Patient Privacy in the Digital Age
Organizations Slowly Considering Greater Scrutiny of Aging Physicians’ Practice
Marketing Shared Appointments: Paradigm Shift in Healthcare [Podcast]
Big Data = Big Brother? Leveraging Transaction Data for Better Healthcare

(3) He was an ambitious and successful attorney.

(4) He was known as ‘the rail-splitter’.

Honesty in medicine is a fundamental pillar of our profession. However, physicians and scientific investigators have the same moral failings as the rest of our species. While we have moved beyond the atrocities of the Tuskegee syphilis ‘research’, we are actively combating plagiarism, fraud, corporate misconduct and ethical erosion.

Most of us believe that our physician’s exam room is a sanctuary from dishonesty. Our own doctor, while imperfect, is honest and would not knowingly give false information to us. A recent survey published in Health Affairs challenges this assumption and suggests that a new battlefront against medical dishonesty needs to be waged.

Nearly 20% of about 1800 physicians surveyed did not soundly reject that patients should never be told a falsehood. About 10% admitted to having done so themselves. We don’t know the specifics of their truth-stretching, which may have been well meaning massaging of medical facts or sanitizing a prognosis. Nearly a third of physicians did not agree that medical errors should be disclosed to patients. Keep in mind that while patients have a right be informed about medical mistakes, the current medical malpractice system is a major impediment blocking physicians from admitting error. It’s a little tougher for a doctor to tell a patient he messed up when this admission will be used as a legal cudgel against him.

I think that honesty is an absolute virtue, and not an elastic concept that can be stretched over questionable behaviors. How would I measure up? Here are examples of advice that I’ve given patients over the years.

  • Recommended fiber as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, although there is no scientific basis for this.
  • Ordered CAT scan for defensive purposes to minimize my legal vulnerability.
  • Placed feeding tubes in patients at the request of attending physicians when the medical benefit of this intervention is questionable.
  • Kept silent when patients were being subjected to overtreatment by me or my colleagues.

How do I reconcile my view that I am honest with the above examples? Are my honesty standards too high or is my performance too low? Although my level of honesty may be sufficient to practice medicine, according to the unnamed author of the quote that begins this post, it would surely disqualify me from the practice of law.

TAGGED:honestyPhysicians
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

Should patients choose doctors who are friends?

December 10, 2015

The Stunning Shift Toward Employed Physicians

June 10, 2011

Emergency Nurses: An Overabundance of Violence

November 11, 2015
Health careMedical EthicsSenior Care

Scammers Preying On The Elderly: How To Be More Vigilant

December 10, 2019
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?