According to a recent survey by USA Rx and reported by MPR, the answer is yes patients do lie to their doctors. We all know that the best doctor-patient relationship is one that is built on trust between both parties, and that a physician needs honest information from a patient in order to be accurate as possible in guiding a patient to wellness. Unfortunately, some research suggests that as many as 60% to 80% of Americans may not be forthcoming with their physicians about information that could impact their health.

A recent survey of over 3000 US adults conducted by USA Rx corroborated that a significant number of Americans lie to their physicians. The survey found that less than half (42%) of respondents have never lied to their physician for any reason, while 58% acknowledged lying or concealing information. Mental health, exercise frequency, and alcohol consumption were the top 3 topics that respondents reported lying about most often. Other topics included diet, drug use, sexual activity, and smoking.

The most common reasons cited by respondents as to why they lie to their physician were embarrassment, fear of judgment, and to avoid lectures (40.4%, 33.8%, and 32.5%, respectively).

The article then reached out to DPC physician Teresa Lovins of Lovin My Health DPC in Columbus, Indiana to gain some insight into results of this survey. Dr. Lovins is also is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Dr. Lovins wasn’t completed surprised by the results, especially in regards to new patients. The doctor-patient relationship takes time to develop. Fortunately, DPC practices allow for more of this time and personal connection to develop. She also has discovered that as her relationship with her patients builds and she gets to know them better, she gets closer to the actual truth as she creates an atmosphere of safety where patients don’t feel judged.

In Direct Primary Care, I have the luxury of a little more time to build rapport with patients and explore issues, compared to my colleagues who are in more traditional, typical practice settings, and so the patient has more opportunity to get out the information they want to, and I have more opportunity to ask the questions I need to ask. In more typical settings, the rapid in-and-out nature of patient visits creates more compression and pressure, where there is less time to explore what really might be going on for the patient.

You may view the complete article and get more helpful insight from Dr. Lovins. One thing seems pretty clear. Trust between a doctor and patients takes time, and patients needs to feel that they are in a safe and open environment. Here again, Direct Primary Care shines! it would be interesting to see this same survey done with patients in DPC practices across the country.