“Mind over matter” is a phrase we all have heard when it comes to dealing with problems. Apparently, Doctors are taking the cliché very seriously. A new study shows that doctors believe in the power of placebo treatment. In a study of Chicago-area doctors, 45% admitted to using placebos as a clinical treatment. Along with that number, 96% of the doctors surveyed believed that placebos can have a positive effect on a patient, although the study showed that the most common reason for use of a placebo is to calm a patient.The statistic raises ethical questions for patients seeking treatment. Since informing the patient that the medication is a placebo may offset the body’s positive expectation, doctor’s have to be creative when explaining what they are giving their patients. Some of the explanations they have given within the realm of honesty are: “this may help you, but I don’t know how it works,” and “this may help, but it will not hurt.”
