The American Journal of Bioethics is proud to announce that its March issue, a special issue discussing issues related to lying in medicine, is now available online.

In this issue Samia Hurst and Nicolas Tavaglione discuss when it is permissible for physicians to lie on behalf of their patients. For example, in cases where insurance coverage is key to gaining access to needed therapy, a physician may, rightfully on Tavaglione and Hurst’s view, bend the truth to ensure that the patient has access to care. Agree? Disagree? Click here to read what the commentators on this article have to say.

The second article in this issue raises the important question as to whether physicians are acting in their patients’ best interests if they tell the whole truth and nothing but. Wells and Kaptchuk argue that there must be a balance between telling patients about every single possible side effect of a medication or every possible outcome from a procedure and giving them enough information so that they can make an informed decision. How to strike that balance? That is the difficult part.

Want to read more about lying in medicine? Click here to see all of the contents of AJOB’s March issue.

Summer Johnson McGee, PhD