Doctors have an unenviable task. Their patients range from the person who treats doctors as God and just does what they are told without asking many questions, to the person who badly needs hope kept alive and 'decides' not to ask the question that may be lurking in the mind for fear of the answer, to the person who wants to know the score and decide between alternatives to the person who wants a clear explanation and a chance to make a joint decision with the doctor, right up to the patient who wants complete choice. And the same person may fall into different categories at different times depending on the circumstance or the disease.
The doctor, who may be a specialist (and not be the GP who knows the person well) has to decide what sort of person he/she is dealing with and whether that person will always react in one way or react in a different way depending on the situation.
We expect a lot of our doctors, even that they are mind readers. 