RT Book, Section
A1 Calkins, Bethany C.
A1 Quill, Timothy E.
A2 Feldman, Mitchell D.
A2 Christensen, John F.
A2 Satterfield, Jason M.
A2 Laponis, Ryan
SR Print(0)
ID 1167755303
T1 Delivering Serious News
T2 Behavioral Medicine: A Guide for Clinical Practice, 5e
YR 2019
FD 2019
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781260142686
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1167755303
RD 2024/04/19
AB With  the  passage  of  time,  attitudes  about  how  much  information  is  to  be  divulged  to  patients  about  their  medical  conditions  have  evolved.  In  Decorum,  Hippocrates  wrote,  “…  conceal  most  things  from  the  patient  while  you  are  attending  him.  Give  orders  with  cheerfulness  and  serenity,  turning  attention  away  from  what  is  being  done  to  him  [because]  a  forecast  of  what  is  to  come  can  cause  a  turn  for  the  worse.”  In  1847,  when  the  American  Medical  Association  (AMA)  published  their  First  Code  of  Medical  Ethics,  they  agreed,  stating  that  “The  life  of  a  sick  person  can  be  shortened  not  only  by  the  acts,  but  also  by  the  words  or  manner  of  a  physician.  It  is,  therefore,  a  sacred  duty  to  guard  himself  carefully  in  this  respect,  and  to  avoid  all  things  which  have  a  tendency  to  discourage  the  patient  and  depress  his  spirits.”