Whither further in the problem of informing about the state of health, prognosis andtreatment?

Overview

In the area of communication with patients there continue to exist several controversial points.One of them is the problem of revealing an unfavorable prognosis when there may occura conflict between the patient's wish to be fully informed and the wish of the physician to guardthe patient against grim reality. In such cases physicians prefer the principle of beneficencebefore the respecting of the patient's autonomy, while the public defends the right to „the fulltruth“. Analyzed is the interpretation of „the right to any information“ in relation to healthcaredocumentation, and presented are original results of a survey among physicians in hospitals.Last year, young physicians in hospitals (n=166) to a relatively high degree (55%), experiencedconflicts with patients for differences in opinion on treatment or for refusal of therapy by thepatient. Even though the patient was formally granted the right to information, in realityhospitals lack rules that would allow patients to influence the communicative process accordingto their own needs. Further steps as regards the problem of communicating information haveto reflect the organizational context of hospital care, which would indicate more the legitimacyof patient's needs and would strengthen the role of the patient in the process of communication.

Key words:
communication - right to information - patient's rights - unfavorable prognosis -beneficence - autonomy - conflict.