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  3. Is your doctor telling you the truth? Possibly not, according to a new surve

Is your doctor telling you the truth? Possibly not, according to a new surve

游客2023-08-21  70
问题     Is your doctor telling you the truth? Possibly not, according to a new survey in Health Affairs of nearly 1,900 physicians around the country.
    The researchers found that 55% of doctors said that in the last year they had been more positive about a patient’s prognosis(预断)than his medical history warranted. And 10% said they had told patients something that wasn’t true.
    About a third of the MDs said they did not completely agree that they should disclose medical errors to patients, and 40% said they didn’t feel the need to disclose financial ties to drug or device companies.
    Really? The study’s lead author, Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, a medicine professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, was surprised to learn how dishonest her colleagues were. "Some of the numbers were larger than I expected they might be," she says.
    Why the white lies? In some cases, Iezzoni says it was for self-protection. Nearly 20% of the doctors admitted that they didn’t disclose a medical error to their patients because they were afraid of being sued for malpractice.
    In other cases, it may have been for the patient’s benefit. MDs might spare an anxious patient from hearing about the slightly abnormal results of a lab test, for example, if it has no impact on the patient’s health. Conversely(相反地), the doctor might exaggerate a health result in hopes of motivating a patient to take better care of himself.
    "The doctor-patient relationship is a human interaction, and physicians are human too," says Iezzoni. "They don’t want to upset their patients, they don’t want their patients to look unhappy or burst into tears. But they also need to be professionals, so they need to tell themselves that if there is a difficult truth they need to tell their patient, they need to figure out a way of communicating that effectively. "
    That’s critical for doctors to appreciate, because as well-intentioned as their lies may be, other studies consistently show that patients prefer the truth, and would rather hear harsh news than remain ignorant about a terrible medical condition. Being fully informed is a way that patients can cope and prepare for whatever might occur.
    As for the failure to disclose medical errors, Iezzoni says doctors’ fear of malpractice suits may often be misplaced. Studies suggest that in cases where physicians are open about their mistakes, patients are more likely to be understanding and refrain from suing.
    So how can doctors learn to be more honest with their patients? More training about how to communicate with people about their health is critical—especially when it comes to delivering bad news. Patients also need to be clear and firm about how honest they want their doctors to be. Communication is a two-way street, after all, even in the doctor’s office. [br] What’s the main topic of the passage?
选项 A、The honesty of your doctor.
B、The doctor-patient relationship.
C、The training in communication.
D、The reasons for telling white lies.
答案 A
解析 文章开篇设问：你的医生会告诉你真相吗?在第二、三段作者通过一组调查数据说明医生说谎的情况，并指出实际情况其实更严重；接着在第五、六段讨论了医生说谎的原因，一方面是出于自我保护，另一方面是为了病人着想；从第七段到结尾，作者提到实际上病人更希望知道真相，并指出应该培训医生如何与病人进行交流。所以本文是围绕医生的诚实展开讨论，因此A)“医生的诚实”为正确答案。
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