[Simulation in the general hospital: differential diagnosis and policy].

Doctors meet patients who present with non-genuine diseases. We present three patients who present with an illness with no organic cause: conversion syndrome, factitious disorder and simulation. We discuss the differential diagnosis, prevalence and diagnostics in the event of simulation. A proposal is made about how to respond in the event of simulation. The method is similar to the treatment of a factitious disorder: limitation of the potential benefits attached to the sick role; confrontation with medical facts; maintaining the doctor-patient relationship.