Lying to your doctor: Exploring age differences and techniques to foster honest patient-doctor communication

Honest communication between patients and doctors is essential for providing quality healthcare. The present study tested a sample of 158 younger and 149 older adults and assessed how often they lied to their doctor about their health behaviors (exercise, food/diet, alcohol use, illicit drug use, cigarette smoking). We also assessed perceptions of two communication strategies where patients reported their health concerns verbally to their doctor (direct communication) or by writing down their concerns before seeing the doctor (indirect communication). Lying to one's doctor was common across adults, but younger adults were more likely to lie about drug use and cigarette smoking compared with older adults. Younger adults also showed a stronger preference for indirect communication and reported that this communication method would make them more honest with their doctor during a routine check-up. These results offer insight into enhancing honesty between patients and doctors.