Do doctors prescribe placebos?

Generally, placebos are known to be used in clinical trials to test a new drug's efficacy. Because they can successfully treat a condition with no active medicine, they have a reputation for being the gold standard in proving drug effectiveness. But do doctors prescribe placebos? When you go to a doctor’s office would you expect to be given a treatment based on placebos? 

Since there is no doubt in the reality of the placebo effect, it can be ethically claimed that doctors can prescribe placebos ethically, whether or not they tell a patient they are receiving placebo treatments.  The entire issue is that because placebos can provide relief, a physician is compelled to consider them.

All across the world, more and more physicians are known to be prescribing placebos for many different diseases. In a 2015 survey, it was established that 45-80 percent of U.S rheumatologists admitted to their use of placebos in treating patients. There is plenty of evidence in the medical world that validates the effectiveness of the use of placebo for various ailments which makes it a better option than a drug which may cause unnecessary side effects.

According to the study published in The Australian Journal of General Practice, many doctors across the world use a placebo to treat their patients and believe it helps patients' minds to ease and heal better. They surveyed 130 doctors and inquired about the use of an inert placebo which has no physical effects or an active placebo which has physical effects but not necessarily for the patient's problem e.g. antibiotic for a viral cold.

The results of the finding concluded that 39 percent of the medical practitioners prescribed inert placebo at least once and around three-quarters reported they have used active placebos once in their entire careers. 40 percent of the doctors admitted to doing it as regularly as once a month. Commonly prescribed active placebos included antibiotics, multi-vitamin or mineral supplements, and alternative therapies. 

What are the placebos prescribed for?

The use of placebos can seem almost limitless. It can be made useful in any circumstance to make patients feel better. However, they are most often prescribed by doctors for insomnia, pain management, fatigue, anxiety, depression, cough, cramps or body aches, and viruses. In the past, doctors used placebos disguised as medicine to treat these conditions which include painkillers, antibiotics, vitamins or minerals supplements, cough mixtures, or antidepressants. Doctors have also found that informing patients of a placebo treatment can be effective for insomnia, arthritis pain, symptoms of angina, and back pain.

Why do doctors prescribe placebos? 

When you visit the doctor, you not only take your health issue with you but also a hope within you that the doctor will treat you and provide you with relief. This hope or trust in the doctor's judgment makes you feel better and at ease. Doctors use placebos because they believe that their prescriptions will make a positive impact on the patient. It will help them feel better. The doctors aim to make patients feel accompanied and taken care of- not abandoned. Good relationships foster good health. Also, doctors might be forcefully made to use placebos in their treatments as sometimes, patients begin to plead for possible treatments. To curb their urge for medical intervention and make them feel better, placebos are widely used by doctors.

So yes, doctors do prescribe placebos as they are effective and viable options at times. Although lying to the patients is never endorsed but then a doctor’s job is to provide relief to the patient and if that is fulfilled with a placebo, its use in treatments should not be undermined. The placebo effect is proof that our brain has the ability to heal our minds. The cure lies within us, it's time we absorb this fact completely.