PHI 2396 Lecture 4: Bioethics - Chapter 4 part 2

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 2396
• Professor: Iva Apostolova

Document Summary

I believe that full disclosure is most definitely necessary in medicine, based on the findings in this chapter of the textbook. There were many arguments for and against full disclosure but i found the arguments for it to be much more compelling. I believe it is simply just unfair and unjust to leave a patient in the dark regarding their own body. Without knowing the whole truth about their diagnosis, they are unable to make a truly informed decision about their treatment plan. When discussing truth-telling and confidentiality, the opposing side argued that patients do not want to know the truth about their diagnosis, especially if it is grim. This was found to be untrue following multiple surveys in which patients stated that they really do prefer to be told the truth about their diagnosis. It was also argued that physicians have no obligation to tell patients the truth because patients are incapable of understanding it.