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http://americannewsreport.com/doctors-admit-lying-to-patient s-8813139.html Two national surveys of doctors in the U.S. have uncovered shocking admissions that many physicians lie to their patients, withhold information about their medical mistakes, fail to disclose their financial relationships with medical companies, and routinely order unnecessary medical procedures to avoid being sued. “There’s an expectation that our doctors will be truthful, and most are but some are not,” said Eric Campbell, the director of research at Massachusetts General Hospital, who co-authored one study of doctors that is being published in the journal Health Affairs. Campbell and his colleagues surveyed nearly 1,900 doctors in 2009 and found that 11 percent had told their patients something untrue in the previous year. Over a third of the doctors believed it was not always necessary to disclose a serious medical error to a patient. Other survey results: 55% of doctors gave a positive prognosis to a patient that was not warranted. 20% did not fully disclose a mistake because they were afraid of a lawsuit. 28% revealed to an unauthorized person private health information about a patient. 35% did not feel they should always disclose financial relationships with medical companies The researchers didn’t ask whether any patients were harmed because of a physician’s dishonesty. Medical companies will soon be required by law to disclose whether they gave doctors gifts, speaking fees or other financial compensation. Under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act of 2009, all drug and device companies will be required to report payments in excess of $10 by March, 2013. A searchable database will also be available showing everything from consulting fees to vacations and meals that physicians accept from medical companies. Another national survey released this week found that nearly all orthopedic surgeons admitted practicing “defensive” medicine – the ordering of unnecessary tests, procedures and referrals — to avoid future liability. The study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), estimated the annual cost of defensive medicine at $2 billion. In the survey of over 1,200 orthopaedic surgeons, 96 percent admitted ordering tests, procedures or hospital admissions primarily to avoid possible malpractice lawsuits. Researchers estimated the cost of defensive medicine at $8,500 per month or $100,000 per year for each doctor. The study also found that up to 84 percent of orthopedic surgeons avoided high-risk patients or procedures to limit their liability. Other types of defensive medicine include closing a practice to become a consultant, not seeing patients in an emergency room and not operating on patients with diabetes or heart problems. The study shows that physicians “are clearly concerned about malpractice issues and they’re adjusting their practice procedures based on that fear,” said Manish K. Sethi, MD, lead author of the study, and co-director of the Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute Center for Health Policy. “Defensive medicine drives up the cost of patient care and limits patient access to specialty care, neither of which are in the interest of our patients,” said Douglas Lundy, MD, chairman of the AAOS Medical Liability Committee. “Unfortunately, the current legal climate forces good doctors to order these tests and practice defensive medicine.” |
