New research highlighting the occasionally dishonest tendencies of doctors is calling into question the reliability of the information patients receive from their physicians and pitting doctors against the rules and protections governing their line of work. The prevalence of dishonesty among doctors also has some researchers wondering whether patient-directed approaches to medicine and treatment can truly be effective if patients are not fully informed.

Medical malpractice experts note that, in a recent study conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers, 11 percent of doctors had claimed to tell a patient or patient's guardian something intentionally inaccurate within the past year, and 20 percent said they did not disclose their own mistake to a patient out of fear of being sued.

Additionally, 34 percent of doctors did not agree entirely that they should disclose all errors to patients. The research was published in the journal Health Affairs.

The academic research is paired with a poll conducted by the organization Truth On Call for MSNBC. The poll talked to 100 physicians and asked if they had ever withheld a serious medical mistake from a patient. Twenty-one of the doctors admitted to withholding the error, while 55 said they went ahead and disclosed their mistakes. The remaining 24 claimed to have never made a serious medical error.

Although the information may be alarming to patients in Ohio and elsewhere, more research is needed to further examine the factors affecting doctors' honesty with patients and to determine what changes to the current system could encourage improved candor by physicians.

Source: MSNBC, "Many docs tell white lies, study finds" Feb. 8, 2012