A disturbing study has been published indicating that many doctors prescribe placebos instead of efficacious medications to their patients. From the story:Many rheumatologists and general internal medicine physicians in the US say they regularly prescribe “placebo treatments” including active drugs such as sedatives and antibiotics, but rarely admit they are doing so to their patients, according to a study on bmj.com...
The authors report that among the 679 physicians (57%) who responded to the survey half of them said they prescribed “placebo treatments” on a regular basis. Most physicians (62%) believed the practice to be ethically acceptable and were happy to recommend or prescribe placebo treatments.
The most commonly used placebo treatments prescribed in the past year were over the counter painkillers (41%) or vitamins (38%). Some of the physicians reported using antibiotics (13%) and sedatives (13%) as placebos, only 3% reported using sugar pills.
Interestingly, among those who prescribe placebo treatments, most doctors (68%) said they typically describe the placebo treatments to patients as “a potentially beneficial medicine or treatment not typically used for their condition”, only rarely did they admit to explicitly describing them to patients as “placebos”.
Yes, I know there is such a thing as a placebo effect, which is why they are used in human medical trials, where they are appropriate. But even if this does work once in a while, it is wrong.
Comments are visible to subscribers only. Log in or subscribe to join the conversation.
