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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
[Truth disclosure in physicians' dialogue: compassionate lie or merciless statistics?]
1Medizinische Klinik, Stadtspital Triemli, Zürich.
Abstract:
Breaking bad news is one of the most important and most difficult tasks of a physician. The training for this dialogue should be intensified during the medical curriculum. Physicians of the town of Zurich in general inform their patients truthfully about the seriousnessy of their illness. The prognosis of a patient is revealed in a careful way with a wide range of options. In the northern countries of Europe the truth in medical diagnosis and prognosis is revealed in a straight way, whereas in the south and the southeast the truth is generally hidden from the patient. A few simple rules are given for the initial and the subsequent dialogues between the physician and a patient with an incurable disease.
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