Doctors may choose riskier treatment with fewer severe side effects for themselves than they'd recommend for their patients, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine Tuesday.
In the study, two sets of questions were sent to primary care physicians around the United States.
One involved choosing between two types of colon cancer surgery and the other situation involved choosing no treatment for the flu, or choosing a made-up treatment less deadly than the disease but which could cause permanent paralysis.
Of 242 physicians who answered the colon cancer questionnaire, 38 percent went with the treatment that carried a higher risk of death but fewer side effects for themselves. By contrast, only a quarter
said they would recommend that treatment to their patients.
In the flu scenario, 63 percent chose the deadlier option of no treatment for themselves, versus 49 percent recommending it for patients.
The findings are important because patients faced with difficult medical decisions often ask their doctors, "What would you do?" The answer reflects the doctors' values -- not necessarily those of the
patients.
Doctors should know what their patients value most before giving advice, and patients should ask doctors the reasons behind their answers, said study author Dr. Peter Ubel, an internist and behavioral scientist at Duke University.