Importance of honesty in medicine

We are entering to a new era in medicine, where patients are becoming

more demanding than in the past. This is largely due to significant advancement
in the education of people. Patients can access wide array of data and can
reaffirms their suspicion through Internet or social media. However, a key
question remains. Is the new generation of patients and doctors more honest
than in the past? Honesty is highly important in medicine because it can
influence the outcome of the diagnosis, protects the doctor and society at large
and also enables the patient to prepare mentally for his final days.

Honesty has always been an important issue in medical care. Honesty of

a patient can influence the outcome of the diagnosis and ultimately, the course of
treatment for it. In medicine, much of the diagnosis come from listening to the
chief complains of the patients. If the patient is reluctant to tell the doctor the
symptoms he is experiencing, the doctor may misdiagnose the patient or worse,
the patient fail to tell the doctor that he is allergic to a particular type of medicine,
he might suffer from an allergic reaction. Hence, honesty is absolutely essential
in medicine as it can impact patient care negatively and adversely.

Besides that, honesty can also provide substantial protection to healthcare

providers. The patient should be honest about his well being and inform the
doctor about potential healthcare risk. For example, if the patient is positive for

HIV or Hepatitis B, he should be obliged to inform his healthcare provider about

his condition so that the doctor can take precautionary measure and be extra
careful when treating the patient. Imagine if the patient did not inform the doctor
about his conditions and the doctor accidentally pricked his fingers and was
exposed, he may be infected and it will lead to the destruction of the doctors
career or even costs the doctors life.

Furthermore, honesty is essential as it may solve certain public health

issue. Patient whom is diagnosed with sexually transmissible infections should
report to the doctor about his sexual partners, so that the doctor can inform them
about their conditions. If the patient failed to inform the doctor, these diseases
may be spread to other people, hence becoming a public health concern.
This clearly illustrates the importance of honesty in the field of medicine.

Patients play a huge role in being honest to their doctors. However, it is

undeniable that doctors are also responsible to tell the truth, no matter how brutal
the news is. This is because majority of patient wanted to be told the prognosis
and diagnosis of the illnesses. The rationale behind this is because that by
informing them about the prognosis, the patient can actually prepare himself
mentally and psychologically. Furthermore, the patients can have a final meet up
with his friends and families. They can even reconcile with their enemies and
fulfill their wishes.

In conclusion, honesty is important in the field of medicine as it can

influence the outcome of the diagnosis, protects the doctor and society besides
enables the patient to prepare psychologically for his final days. When patients
are honest, they are helping themself, as the diagnosis can be more accurate.
When doctors are honest, they can foster trust and respect. Therefore, honesty
should always be upheld in medicine and in life.