Listen to this PodcastMore 60-Second Science
By now we’ve all heard about the placebo affect: just by thinking a pill will help cure what ails you, it often does. Well, it turns out doctors sometimes take advantage of the placebo affect. Yes, doctors at least doctors in Chicago, occasionally purposely prescribe placebos. That’s according to a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Of 231 internists in Chicago who answered a survey, 45 percent say they’ve used placebos on occasion. The medicines of choice included antibiotics, vitamins, ibuprofen, and amounts of medication too small to be therapeutic. All prescribed for situations in which those pills shouldn¹t have had an effect on the patient’s particular complaint.
About a third of the doctors told patients that the pills might help and certainly won’t hurt. About 20 percent simply tell them that it’s medicine. So even though prescribing placebos remains controversial, clearly some docs are doing it. Decades ago, physicians prescribed placebos to distinguish who had a real problem and who was faking it. Today, they recognize the reality of the mind-body connection, and that placebos can sometimes be just what the doctor ordered.
–Cynthia Graber
See what we're tweeting about
4 Comments
Add CommentPlacebos work if the illness is psychosomatic in nature, but if the illness if real, it will not work. Antibiotics do not work on viruses, and I can understand physicians wanting to substitute placebos for patients who demand antibiotics. However, I think it is unethical for the physician to lie to the patient whatever the reason.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA Japanese proverb says "Lies can be a convenient measures to accomplish one's purpose."�Today, I know the counterpart of this proverb in English from Japanese-English dictionary. It says "The end justifies the means".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEveryday Japanese TV stations broadcast that the many food company camouflage the limit of the date which is an indicator of the deliciousness.
Of course, I dislike this kind of camouflage.
Antibiotics as placebos? Are they crazy? Don't we have enough resistant bugs without this irresponsible use of antibiotics? Prescribing an antibiotic as a placebo should be cause enough to revoke a doctor's license.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA lie is a lie is a lie. Lying to a patient may seem like a good idea if the doctor actually knows that the patient has no illness, but in that case why not just tell them they are okay? it doesn't make sense to risk a patient's health, not to mention malpractice insurance, by giving the patient a placebo pill. The doctor is essentially saying "I dont have time to figure out whats wrong with you right now." How can we trust a doctor who lies? If placebo pills work why does a doctor even need a medical degree anymore? Simply take anyone off the street and get them to tell people to take a placebo. This simply isnt the end justifies the means, that would only work if the patient didnt have a problem and therefore got better over time, not because of the placebo. What if the patient gets worse? What if they sue? The doctor will have to tell the patient and the court that they lied? The risk isnt worth the reward.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this