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[Truth disclosure in medicine: psychological perspective]
1Departamento de Bioética y Humanidades Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile. mbascunan@med.uchile.cl
Revista Medica De Chile
|August 3, 2005
Summary
Physicians face challenges in truth-telling due to patient distress. Effective medical communication involves sharing information sensitively, respecting patient capacity and emotions, not just exposing facts.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Clinical Communication
Context:
- Truth-telling in medicine presents significant ethical and emotional challenges for healthcare providers.
- Physicians often struggle with delivering bad news due to the potential for patient suffering and their own frustration with negative health outcomes.
Purpose:
- To explore the complexities of truth-telling in medical practice beyond simple information disclosure.
- To reframe the challenge from 'if' to 'how' to communicate difficult truths compassionately and effectively.
Summary:
- Veracity is fundamental to patient-provider trust, but it requires more than just factual exposure.
- Effective communication necessitates considering the patient's emotional state, capacity, and the setting for disclosure.
- The focus should be on how to share information to facilitate patient expression and understanding.
Impact:
- Highlights the ethical imperative of informed consent and patient rights.
- Emphasizes the need for physicians to employ prudence, warmth, and bioethical reasoning in practice.
- Promotes a patient-centered approach to delivering sensitive medical information.