Doctors Often Withhold Information from their Patients

Do you trust your doctor? New research shows that your doctor may not be telling you the whole truth about your health. Although the Charter on Medical Professionalism calls for doctors to be honest with their patients, a new study shows that honesty doesn’t always occur.

Survey Shows Doctors Aren’t Always Honest

A survey, published in the journal Health Affairs, involved nearly 1,900 doctors to see just how honest they are with their patients. Of the 64 percent who responded to the survey, 91 percent agreed that both benefits and risks should be fully covered prior to any procedure. Nearly the same number of doctors, 88.7 percent, also believed that confidential health information should not be shared with an unauthorized individual.  82.8 percent were supporting of never telling a patient something that isn’t true.

But many doctors didn’t feel it was terribly important to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. About 34.1 percent only somewhat agreed or disagreed that they should inform the patient of any medical errors, with 20 percent not disclosing an error due to fear of being sued. Additionally, about 35.4 percent only somewhat agreed or disagreed that they should make known the relationships with drug and device companies. Astoundingly, 11 percent admitted that they have told a patient or child’s guardian something that was completely untrue.

This ‘honesty’ survey comes out after it was discovered that radiology doctors around the nation from prestigious and little-known programs alike have been cheating the exam system. With exam officials openly admitting that the cheating has been going on for a ‘long time’, the information sheds light on the fact that many radiology doctors may actually be completely unqualified to be dosing up patients with damaging radiation.

Moral of the story? Find a holistic or naturopathic doctor that you absolutely trust.