Other News Half of U.S. doctors routinely prescribe placebos
By Sue Mueller
Oct 25, 2008 - 2:34:25 PM
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Saturday October 25, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A
national survey finds that half of all US doctors routinely prescribe placebos
for medical conditions to make patients feel better, a practice that triggered
concerns among medical ethicists who worried that doctors might deceive in
order for placebos to work.
The study led by researchers of the National Institutes
of Health and published in BMJ involved 679 internists and rheumatologists
randomly picked from a national list of doctors and the results are believed to
be representative of the national status.
The researchers found that half of the surveyed doctors
said they prescribed placebo treatments on a regularly basis (a few times in a
month) and 62 percent believed the practice to be ethically acceptable and were
happy to recommend or prescribe placebo treatments.
Using placebos, meaning using something that doctors know
does not mean to be used for a medical condition is also common in other
countries such as Denmark, Israel, Britain, Sweden and New Zealand as early
surveys show.
The current survey found the most commonly used placebos
by American doctors were headache pills (over the counter pain killers in 41%
cases) and vitamins (38%) followed by antibiotics (13%) and sedatives
(13%).
Sugar pills were the least
popular placebo ever used (3%) suggesting that doctors believe some placebos work
better than others.
A health observer noted that if someone claimed vitamins
can treat any disease and sell it, he would face serious legal problems. But it
seems that doctors have no such problem and they are allowed to use anything
that is not indicated to treat any disease.
Doctors seem also to be allowed to use prescribed drugs to treat a
disease that has not been sanctioned by the FDA.
The study found when placebos were given, doctors who
prescribe placebos would describe them to patients as "a medicine not
typically used for your condition but might benefit you" whereas only 5%
honestly told patients that the treatment they receive was a placebo.
Placebos may be given at the time that doctors do not
know how to help their patients.
A
person who did not want to be name told foodconsumer.org a personal story.
He said years ago he suffered fatigue without
any known reason and he went to see a doctor and received all types of examinations.
In the end, the doctor said, "Well, everything looks like okay and likely
you worry too much".
Then the
doctor gave him some Paxil pills.
Of
course that did not work. And afterward, he overcame his condition in one month
by using a Ginseng extract and royal jelly.
Franklin G. Miller, one author of the study report, was
cited by the New York Times as saying that the authors of the survey were
troubled by the findings and particularly concerned about use of antibiotics
and sedatives as they are not placebos and could result in some consequences.
Trials have showed placebos may have powerful therapeutic
effects.
30 to 40 percent of depressed
patients when given placebos felt better, an effect that is similar to what an
antidepressant could provide. But how placebos affect the body remains unknown.
The results of the current survey were almost the same as
the one reported by Sherman R and Hickner J at the University Of Chicago
Pritzker School Of Medicine in the Jan 2008 issue of Journal of General
Internal Medicine.
Sherman and Hickner conducted a survey of 466 physicians
from Internal Medicine departments of three Chicago-are medical school and they
got response from about 50 percent of the doctors.
They found 45 percent respondents routinely used placebos
in clinical practice. "The most common reasons for placebo use were to
calm the patient and as supplemental treatment," the survey found.
"Ninety-six percent of the respondents believed that
placebos can have therapeutic effects, and up to 40% of the physicians reported
that placebos could benefit patients physiologically for certain health
problems," the authors wrote.
"Only 12% of the respondents said that placebo use
in routine medical care should be categorically prohibited. Regarding
"placebo-like" treatment, 48% of respondents reported giving at least
1 type of treatment in a situation where there was no evidence of clinical
efficacy."
Critics worried that the practice can not only harm the
relationship between patients and doctors, but also the bodies of patients.