TFL Vsebine / Revija Revus

Na področju tradicionalne medicinske etike lahko opazimo nenavadno odsotnost zahteve po resnicoljubnosti v odnosu zdravnik-pacient, medtem ko je na področju sodobne medicinske etike postala resnicoljubnost ena izmed osrednjih tem. V zadnjih desetletjih je, skladno s sodobnimi pogledi na človekove pravice in dostojanstvo človeškega bitja, v ospredje stopila avtonomija bolnika, ki je tesno povezana s pravico pacienta do seznanjenosti z lastnim zdravstvenim stanjem. S pregledom najvplivnejših usmeritev glede resnicoljubnosti na področju bioetike ter nekaterimi zakonskimi premisleki skuša članek odgovoriti na vprašanje upravičenosti prikrivanja resnice v odnosu zdravnik-pacient.

Within the scope of medical ethics, the issue of truth-telling (veracity) has undergone important changes in the last half a century. In traditional medical ethics the obligation of truth telling was not an essential part of the patient-physician relationship; the Hippocratic Oath does not even mention the principle of truth-telling. However, in recent years, the duty of truth-telling has become one of the main issues in bioethics and a fundamental part of professional medical ethical oaths and codes. This change could be perceived as a part of the broader process in which the patient-physician relationship moved beyond paternalistic medical attitude. Today the key concept is patient autonomy where patient is allowed to take some control of the course of the treatment. Mostly, truth-telling is thought of as a condition that needs to be fulfilled in order for the patient to act autonomously, i.e. to be free the use placebo is a standard. The effect of placebo is mainly based on authority of the medical profession which is in turn, ironically, jeopardized by the use of placebo. At the end of the day, the erosion of trust in the medical profession may be the greatest danger of not telling the truth.