Doctors Sometimes Hide the Truth

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Doctors Sometimes Hide the Truth

When it comes to medical errors, doctors are not likely to tell their patients the truth.  Typically, a physician will keep his/her patient in the dark by using euphemistic medical-speak to explain an error, such as referring to an avoidable surgical injury as an “unanticipated complication of the procedure.”  But a recent study in the Journal of Health Affairs suggests that doctors cloud the truth in many other ways: http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/2/383.abstract.

What is most disturbing about the Health Affairs article is that many doctors do not agree that they should disclose serious medical errors to patients.  In fact, a culture of secrecy has long been promoted by physicians and their professional organizations.  Most States have enacted laws to cloak bad outcomes in secrecy, so that patients cannot learn whether a physician’s colleagues or