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.
Physicians can ethically withhold information in situations where full disclosure of a diagnosis or treatment would cause great psychological harm to the patient.
Readers are referred to an article by Neil Farber et al in the Archives of Internal Medicine to discuss whether it is appropriate for physicians to administer lethal injections for capital punishment when medical society policies forbid physician participation.