**12.6 Truthfulness**

Generally, most people say that it is hurtful to be told the truth but it has to be told whether it is palatable or not [45]. The physician is expected at all times to tell the patient the truth about their clinical condition. Truthfulness is also known as truth telling is one of the principles of medical ethics. Truth telling is guided by trust and confidentiality. Every patient expects the physician to tell them the truth about their illness always. It is very important in the advancement of patient autonomy [42]. Trust telling is an important ingredient in the physician doctor relationship as lack of it leads to distrust [4]. It is expected that all healthcare professionals including doctors should always tell their patients the truth always even if it will become bad news [45]. This is why medical ethics and breaking of bad news is incorporated in medical training. Some cultures and religions forbid been told the truth when it is bad news. Sometimes there is a contradiction between respect for the person as an individual and with the patient's right not to know due to patient autonomy [44, 45]. Therefore the issue of truth telling has been debated in biomedical ethics [2]. This is because truth telling has been a challenge in medical ethics as there is no guideline on the limit to how much information should be given to the patient which sometimes leads to ethical controversies [2, 44]. How the information is relayed to the patient is also very important [2]. Even with all these controversies, challenges and ethical issues associated with truth telling, it is always the right of the patient to be told the truth always [53].
