Should doctors let their patients know if they have a deadly disease, will they be dying soon, do they have a certain amount of time to live, will they make it to their daughters/son´s wedding? Doctors should tell their patients about everything that is wrong with them, how much time they have to live, what is affecting them, what can cure them. Not only is it a doctor's obligation to treat a patient the right way, but they need to keep them informed on their health, what prescription they need, etc. Letting their patients know everything about their health is an expectation so people can prepare for what's coming a them , how to take care of themselves , what to do and what not to do. For example, once a patient knows that they would
According to Higgs, one reason why a medical profession might withhold the truth from the patient is that : it may actually do harm through anxiety and distress that's produced after disclosing the truth. At times, truth-telling can lead to major/acute distress or long term disability. There can also be times where distress and fear can lead to a more severe condition of an illness or even causing a patient to deny the treatment. In either way, there is a high chance that the worsening of the illness may occur after a physician disclosing the truth to his/her
I think it’s a part of the doctors’ responsibility to keep a good professional relationship with one’s patients. Collins states “those who do not want to know, and who if they were told would be injured by it; those who are wholly incapable of receiving the truth.” (pg.193). Going back to the client relationship models Collins believes that doctors should use a parent model on their patients. The parent model is when doctors have more experience and knowledge that they use to make decisions without telling the patients about their own health as if they were a child. This model and view basically strips the patient from autonomy and the choice of making his or her own decisions. In a whole, this premise is wrong because patients should have the right to make their own decisions when it comes to their own health.
Furthermore, I will provide the best-recommended course of action to be taken in this circumstance in order to resolve such issues addressed in this case study. In my opinion, it is best for a physician to disclose all information regarding their conditions, treatment options, benefits and risks to their patient in order to maximize and respect his or her autonomy or self-determination. Such a course of action is warranted because it would be incorrect for a physician to rely upon the premise of paternalism that “health and prolonged life must take absolute priority in the patient’s value orderings” and the belief that life and health are intrinsic without taking into regard the patient’s own values regarding these topics when deciding whether
There are many factors that lead them to treating their patients like this, for example time limits. In the film Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare there was a physician, Dr. Erin Martin, who quit her first job because she was limited the amount of time she was allowed with her patients, and was not able to talk with them as long as she wanted to make sure her patients knew everything about their health. She wanted to find a new job where she was able to properly educate her patients. If more physicians focused on properly educating their patients, they might see less of their patients for serious illnesses. In an online article about healthcare they did a study on patients and their experiences at hospitals where their doctors were evaluated on their value of care given. The results from the study showed that “achieving positive patient experiences requires an investment of people and time and an unwavering management commitment” (Stanowski, Simpson, & White). Another study showed the benefits of rewarding doctors for spending more time with their patients and the benefits the patients get from the experience. . “The management of health care for people with chronic illness is a time consuming business for both patients and careers” (Jowsey, Yen &
Currently, most people generally accept a doctor’s word as truth and do not question him or her. When it comes to the medical field, patients can often feel overwhelmed by all the confusing medical terms being thrown at them, so they tend to sit back and do as the doctor says. Healthcare professionals sometimes take advantage of this fact and withhold important information from their patients. For instance, a study conducted by Lisa Lezzoni, MD, and her peers states that more than half of physicians lied to their patients about their diagnosis to put a more positive spin on it (Lezzoni, Rao, DesRoches, Vogeli, and Campbell). Healthcare professionals should disclose to the patient any information pertaining to the patient.
Good communication between physician and patient is vital for a patient to make an informed choice regarding their care.
Patients come to the physician because of a problem that they are having and with that notion they are prepared to give full details of their problem. Giving information to the medical staff is a
There are many health professionals out there who do help patients out, but some professionals like doctors don’t know to treat their patients or how to make patients at easy if something goes wrong. The doctors should have a lot of confident, experience, and treat patients with easy. According to “Wedmed” “Doctors traits should be Confident, empathetic, humane, personal, forthright, respectful, and thorough” (2006). The reason is because patients shouldn’t feel like they are patient of some type of game to that they don’t get better. If they don’t want to treat patients and their families right maybe they should not be part of the this type of professional because it does take a lot of schooling and a lot of time form this type of work. There
Critical Discussion In Should Doctors Tell the Truth, Collins’ believes that every physician should not tell patients the truth. I disagree with Collin’s argument because I am going to argue that physician’s should be ethical and tell the truth to their patients. Collins’ reasons for his argument come from is two premises which are that patients do not want to hear the truth, and if someone does not want the truth then you should not force it on them. My reasons for my counter-argument come from my premises which are that patients want to her the truth, and telling the truth is being ethical.
People should also be aware of the potential side-effects of any medication that was prescribed to them. It is crucial that the doctor is informed about the medical history and all the medication a patient is
Hector, you make an excellent point in considering a physician, as more than a person who administers medical treatment. You afforded that a physician is also an “educator, mentor, friend” and at times a parental figure. It seems that Melody also encompassed this same holistic concept of a physician in her response to me as well. This is perhaps the best way to approach the doctor-patient relationship, while also aiming towards informed consent and autonomy. If a patient feels as though they can ask anything of their physician, or be completely
It is often said that once something is on the web you cannot get it back. Considering the size of the world wide web and the constant and almost immediate growth, it appears to be impossible to monitor. Individual websites may be able to monitor their content with routine updates and reviews of their sites content; and common well-known websites such as google and social media networks such as Facebook and twitter may be able to monitor their content with continuous monitoring of their sites material with random evaluations to prevent illegal activity. Although, when refereeing to the numerous websites, that go unnoticed monitoring can be considered almost impossible.
When it comes down to it doctors do not receive the adequate education, they are not personable, and they are most certainly not honest with their patients 24/7. They may have good qualities, but not enough of them. In the patient’s eyes the doctor is a stranger, and to promote health care the patient needs someone they can trust and talk to.
When doctors hide the truth from their patients, their anxiety is expected to exceed the anxiety they would have if they were to know exactly what was going on. If they aren 't told, they may feel that they cannot trust their doctor or feel skeptical of what they are being told, which can cause an even greater problem.
Doctors think that they have the right not to tell the truth to their patients because of their paternalistic view. They point at patients’ misunderstanding of diagnosis because of the esoteric information and patients’ lacking of making best choices due to their illnesses or medicine to support this view. Although these are true, doctors just think for one side and they generalize it. To go into further detail, knowing the truth is a