Le dispositif médical d'annonce

Announcing disease is a crucial moment in the patient-physician relationship. The information delivered at this time is of course important to help the patient make informed therapeutic decisions, but will also have a direct impact on how the patient perceives the new situation and copes with the disease. The words used by the physician are all important. There is a risk of destabilizing the patient and even of provoking total disorganization not only of the patient but also of the family and even the health care team. The consequences in terms of health care (poor observance, denial, avoidance) can be dramatic. In order to examine in more depth these issues, particularly the question of the moral pain provoked by the announcement of disease, we conducted a survey of patients, care givers, and members of ethics committees. We propose a field study which could be conducted to optimize existing or new methods for announcing disease.