4)    Physical abuse

5)    Murder or other criminal trauma

These are about half the questions, but the answers may reveal a surprising burden on the patient. Many studies have shown emotional trauma can lead to ill health, and certainly an affirmative answer for one of the five issues above would qualify as trauma.

Non-Compliance Issues

Doctors are working harder on getting patients to admit one particular sin – adhering to prescribed medicine and their schedules for ingestion. That’s because, despite extensive patient interviews about what prescription medicines they have and tests to determine ailments, studies have shown that doctors never ask the crucial question – are you taking your medicine?

Studies have determined that patients may be reluctant to take medicine because of fears of side effects or the cost of the medication. But because the subject isn’t brought up, doctors may be scratching their heads because the medications they prescribe don’t seem to work for their patients.

Even when doctors do ask, they sometimes get evasive answers. Which means they need to ask the questions again in a way that will eliminate patients' fears of admitting they did not take medication. How a doctor asks the question, surveys indicate, is often an important factor in getting to the truth.