Annoncer un diagnostic difficile ou un pronostic péjoratif : vérité et stratégies de communication

Announcing a difficult diagnosis or poor prognosis is certainly one of the most delicate and demanding aspects of the medical profession. Surprisingly, this difficult aspect of medical practice is largely ignored in the medical curriculum. Truth lies at the crossroads of many ways requiring involvement of semantics, the psychology of both patients and caregivers, as well as moral and philosophical aspects. We also emphasize the need to place this question in a larger scope of the art of communication. Looking at the question from different angles provides a way of helping the practitioner fulfil this complex task.