Are there any situations when a physician is justified in lying to a patient?

How to Answer
Entry Level Example
Answer Example
Experienced Example

With this question, the interviewer is questioning your knowledge, character, and ethics at the same time. You should have a well-versed answer to this question as it may come up many times during your career. Research the concept of "therapeutic privilege" and then create a canned response from there. Your answer should be brief, clean, and not convoluted.

"I have had many discussions with other anesthesiologists on the topic. Physicians may have to evaluate whether the deception will cause physical or psychological harm, will reduce stress and anxiety, will preserve or create a sense of hope, etc. We may be faced with situations where parents ask us to lie to their children for one reason or another. I have not run into any instances where I've had to evaluate if lying to a patient was appropriate, but my current belief is that there is never a situation where a physician is justified in lying to their patient. We have a responsibility to be honest with our patients so that they can make the most informed decisions for themselves."

"As an anesthesiologist, I commit to be honest and professional in all interactions. Deceiving patients is unethical, and erodes the trust of patients in physicians. I personally feel that deception or lying to a patient is a violation of my duty and is rarely justified. The only exception to this could be in a case where a patient has dementia or another cognitive disorder, that may prevent them from understanding the need for a medical procedure. Depending on the situation (life-threatening illness or disease that required a procedure with sedation), if the patient had a power of attorney, I would give the information to the family and ensure that the medical history was reviewed with that person. I would try to be as honest as possible with the patient, but if they were confused or unable to understand, I would do my best to calm them and reassure them throughout the sedation process. That is the only scenario I could think of where deceiving a patient might be justified."

"Because I have worked in palliative care for many years, this is a topic that comes up frequently. Families often want physicians to omit certain information in the hopes that their loved one won't be stressed or experience additional anxiety. It's understandable that families want to protect their loved ones, but it's never appropriate for physicians to lie or withhold information from patients. It's never okay to mislead a patient into thinking a situation is better or worse than it is. If a family makes such a request, I often offer to share the information in smaller doses, so that it's more manageable and less overwhelming. This also gives them time to ask questions and fully understand the sedation, surgery and recovery process."