Give it to me straight doc,” goes the old quote, “How long do I have to live?” That question might be harder to answer than you think. Doctors aren’t always honest with patients—not because they’re bad people, but because they are people, and no one can be honest all of the time (are you?). Sometimes they tell white lies. Sometimes they withhold information. Sometimes they keep their personal details, well, personal.
If they let you know their every thought, you might trust them less.
Curious about what’s really going on inside doctors’ minds, Eat This, Not That! Health asked the country’s top professionals to reveal 40 secrets they’d never normally tell you. Read on for the ultimate brain X-ray and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had Coronavirus.
They Know When You’re Lying
“You’d be surprised at how frequently patients come to the ER and decide not to tell us important details pertaining to their case,” says Dr. Rachel Shively, MD, an Emergency Medicine physician and Toxicologist practicing in New York.
“Plus we can tell when you’re lying. With lying, it is usually because they are embarrassed or nervous that we won’t give them the same care if they are upfront about things they do that might be disadvantageous to their health
such as drug use or not being compliant with their medications. Which is totally not true—we certainly don’t judge—but is sad. Things like what you took, or the mechanism of your injury, are important things to tell us.
