Doctor issues warning about several things you should never keep from your GP

Despite the existence of doctor-patient confidentiality, it can sometimes feel tricky to open up to your GP without fear of being judged.

This is especially the case when attending an appointment for a sensitive or potentially intimate issue.

On the receiving end of a hard stare, you're asked a stream of questions in quick succession, and all of a sudden, your medical consultation feels like a police interrogation.

You feel the need to lie about your booze unit consumption to avoid sounding like an alcoholic, and answer 'no' to any and all smoke-related questions, so as to escape the disappointed side-eye of someone who's probably handed out dozens of cancer diagnoses.

No matter how awkward or judged we may feel answering these queries, however, one health expert has emphasised that patients must remain truthful about their lifestyle habits during GP appointments, for their own sake.

It's easy to feel judged during GP appointments (Getty Stock Images)

Health journalist Dylan Scott recently caught up with University of Rochester Medical Centre professor of family medicine, Dr Ronald Epstein, for Vox, who informed him that avoiding or lying in response to three particular questions during your next check-up could have serious long-term consequences.

Patients must be honest when medics ask them:

• Which prescription drugs they’re currently taking
• Whether they’re taking these drugs as described
• If they're taking any other substances, either legal, like tobacco or alcohol, or illegal and potentially harmful, along with these prescription medications - and if they say 'yes', how and how often they're being used

"I think the key question for patients to ask themselves and for families to ask themselves is: Would withholding this information threaten or enhance the health of the person involved?" Dr Epstein explained.

Dr Epstein said there questions that require total honesty for health reasons (Getty Stock Image)

Elaborating on the three vital questions which require honest answers, he continued: "If the pills are something that if you miss a dose, you might suffer severe consequences, then it can be life and death."

That said, however, Dr Epstein also admitted that doctors need to be doing their utmost to provide an environment whereby their patients feel comfortable enough to answer such questions.

He described these discussions as a 'shared responsibility'.

"There are two aspects of any healing tradition," Dr Epstein noted. "One is the technical and instrumental pieces. That is the drugs you prescribe, the surgeries, the manipulations you do.

"The other is relational. That is the achievement of shared understanding, trust, confidence, and sometimes optimism so that people can really make decisions on their own behalf and feel empowered."