title: Becoming none but tradesmen: lies, deception and psychotic patients.
abstract: Is there ever any reason for a doctor to lie to a patient? In this paper, we critically review the literature on lying to patients and challenge the common notion that while lying is unacceptable, a related entity--'benevolent deception' is defensible. Further, we outline a rare circumstance when treating psychotic patients where lying to the patient is justified. This circumstance is illustrated by a clinical vignette.
authors.affiliation: Westmead Hospital, Australia.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Moore
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patfield
mesh_terms: D026686:Beneficence; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D014342:Truth Disclosure