A colleague sent me an interesting article on white lies by the medical profession, all in the name of patient care. Physicians tell lies to circumvent perceived hurdles in patient care such as admission diagnoses, diagnostic tests, and restricted antibiotics.
What about lying to patients and withholding information? The literature is sparse on the exploration of this theme. One author suggests that, in some circumstances, withholding the truth to protect hope can be considered a morally acceptable option when truth-telling has the potential to destroy hope's therapeutic effects. Another author concludes that there can be no moral justification for lying to patients.
I will leave the final moral decision on truth telling to you.
