Lee A, Wu H Y
Palliative Care Service, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan, Tock Seng, Singapore 308433.
Singapore Med J. 2002 Oct;43(10):533-8.
It is not uncommon for family members to thwart a doctor's attempt at disclosure of cancer diagnosis to the patient. This stems from concern and love as well as fear of the negative psychological impact of such revelation. Indeed, collusion of this nature was the norm in medical practice till the not too distant past. In this era of patient autonomy and the right to information, we must be careful not to allow attitudes of medical staff or patients' families, language difficulties and organisational issues become barriers to patient's access to information and their psychological coping of the illness. At the same time, we also need to be acutely aware of the unique cultural environment we work in and the families' emotional needs even as we aim to match the patient's desire for information.
家庭成员阻碍医生向患者透露癌症诊断结果的情况并不罕见。这源于关心与爱，也源于担心此类消息会产生负面心理影响。事实上，直至不久之前，这种性质的串通在医疗实践中还是常态。在这个倡导患者自主及信息权的时代，我们必须注意，不能让医护人员或患者家属的态度、语言障碍和组织问题成为患者获取信息及应对疾病心理问题的障碍。与此同时，即便我们旨在满足患者对信息的需求，也需要敏锐地意识到我们工作所处的独特文化环境以及家庭的情感需求。
