their patients. >> gregg: can you believe that? a doctor would lie to his patient. marcus welby would never do that. more than half of doctors say they deliberately put on a positive spin when delivering bad news and that some never even admit to their own medical snakes. dr. steven lamb is a practicing internist, faculty member at new york university school of medicine, contributor to the daily. you ever lied to a patient? >> i can tell you that i have not been brutally honest with certain patients and i think -- >> gregg: really? why? >> i think there are certain areas where being brutally honest is not really the best interest of the patient. since my mission really involves being compassionate, being sensitive, being empathic and there are times where it's inappropriate to tell the patient the honest truth -- >> gregg: give me an example. >> a person will come in and they could be seriously depressed and very anxious, they may not be able to handle the