Should Doctors Tell The Truth By Joseph Collins Analysis

In the article “Should Doctors Tell the Truth” by Joseph Collins, the author describes his experiences as a doctor and discusses how much information a doctor should convey to his or her patients. After reading the article for the first time, I thought I agreed with the Collins’ thesis which states, “The longer I practice medicine the more I am convinced that every physician should cultivate lying as a fine art.” (Collins, p. 194) Collins argues his thesis using two main arguments that lead to the same conclusion. The following two paragraphs illustrate these two arguments. Collins’ first argument begins with the first premise that most people do not want to know the truth. Collins attempts to back this assertion by describing an instance
Under this assumption, Collins introduces the second premise to his argument: that a lot of the time telling the truth harms the patient. These premises are supported by two main cases. The first case involves a lawyer who came to Collins insisting he should know the truth about his health. After Collins explained the nature of his condition fully, he essentially stopped fighting the disease and passed two months later. In the second case, Collins describes a time when one of his friends came to consult him on a problem in his marriage. Collins bluntly told the truth, but it was not what his friend wanted to hear. A few days later, Collins found that the had committed suicide. From these two premises, Collins argues that it is justified for doctors to lie to their
According to the article “Truth telling and Withholding Information,” nine out of ten people want to know if they had a diagnosis of cancer or Alzheimer’s. This means 90 percent of patients want to know the truth if they had a serious diagnosis, going directly against what Collins stated (“Truth telling and Withholding Information”).
Collins might object to this statement and say that in his professional opinion and years of experience, this is not the case. But, in truth, his arguments are based on his practice which cannot be representative of the overall population. For example, although Hillary might be more-liked in Detroit than Trump, it doesn’t mean that this is the case everywhere.
When a doctor makes a decision for a patient in the name of health, the doctor is violating his or her autonomy. By autonomy, I mean the patient’s right to make medical decisions in terms of his or her health. Consider the following case: a patient has an advanced stage cancer that likely leads to death within a month, but the patient has a slim chance to survive through chemotherapy – which on its own is painful. If Collins was the doctor, he may mislead the patient, exaggerate the chances of survival, and convince the patient to opt for chemotherapy in the “best interest” of the patient’s health. But the patient’s “best interest” is subjective based on the perspective of the doctor or the patient.