When should physicians lie for patients?

Even the most honest among us do not tell the truth all of the time.  We are flawed human beings.  We covet, we gossip, we steal, we lie, and we stand idly by. You don’t think you steal?   Have you ever “borrowed” someone else’s idea and represented it as your own? A few weeks before I penned this, I was presented with two opportunities to lie in order to save a patients a few bucks. The first patient wanted a refill for her heartburn medicine, which she takes once daily.  She asked if I would refill the medicine to take twice daily, so she could get double the supply for the same price.  The second patient asked me to write a note that he was at risk for hepatitis B so that he could get the vaccine for free.   Writing the note would be easy, but claiming that he faced risk of hepatitis B infection would require some prevarication. I’ll assume that readers know how I responded to the above two issues.   However, many patients, and perhaps some physicians, who are so harassed by insurance companies and an uncaring medical bureaucracy are looking for any measure of relief when they can grab it.  Many of them have risked rising blood pressures and panic attacks trying to talk common sense with insurance company customer service representatives who have less medical training than hospital housekeepers, about getting their medications approved.   I’ve been down that tortured road more times than I can count, and I feel their pain. Continue reading ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician GI Source Type: blogs