The short answer seems to be no.
Not as often as you’d hope. There’s a new study in Health Affairs on the subject:
The Charter on Medical Professionalism, endorsed by more than 100 professional groups worldwide and the US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, requires openness and honesty in physicians’ communication with patients. We present data from a 2009 survey of 1,891 practicing physicians nationwide assessing how widely physicians endorse and follow these principles in communicating with patients.
Are physicians honest with patients?
Aaron Carroll
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:03:08 GMT
The article goes into a lot specifics and concludes: “we [doctors] are better than this. I wish that were true, but I don’t think it is.
Doctors are people, and God bless us, I think we lie a lot including to our selves. Most Republicans to this day have not and apparently never will admit to themselves or others what a terrible President George W. Bush was for example.
Facts are rarely presented to only serve the truth. Almost all facts presented serve an agenda, even if hidden. We’re taught from an early age to : put our best foot forward, and so. Sadly that’s not the truth, the WHOLE truth and nothing but the truth.
This is the human standard, and Doctors are only human.