Physicians can ethically withhold information in situations where full disclosure of a diagnosis or treatment would cause great psychological harm to the patient.
A physician's role in controlling the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs includes educating patients about the harms associated with these drugs and encouraging them to adopt safe and appropriate training programs.
Physicians need to understand when it may be appropriate to let patients get involved in medical decision-making and when it may be necessary to provide their personal medical judgment.