Almost all doctors (97%) deliberately prescribe treatment for their patients, which, most likely, will not cure them, but will only calm them down: low doses of drugs, vitamins, nutritional supplements or unnecessary examination. This information was obtained as a result of a survey conducted by researchers from two British universities: Oxford and Southampton.
Using the Internet, researchers asked doctors if they had ever used a placebo, such as sugar pills, a different kind of treatment or an unnecessary examination, including blood tests and x-rays. 783 responses were received. Almost all doctors (97%) reported using a placebo at least once.
About 77% of doctors admitted that they resorted to placebo every week, and more than 80% of them said that their use in some cases was completely ethical. All the doctors interviewed explained that they were doing this in order to reassure the patient or because the patients insisted on treatment.
Placebo therapy could also include, according to doctors, unnecessary physiotherapy, mint tablets for sore throats and antibiotics for acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, while they are ineffective against viruses.
A previous study showed that in America, about half of doctors also regularly prescribe this treatment to their patients without telling them about it. The same is practiced in other countries, including Canada, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany.
