4 ms·

Really? Not that I doubt the placebo effect, but in today's litigious climate, I'd be very surprised if modern doctors were actually engaging in the necessary e

by ryandvm 17y ago

Really? Not that I doubt the placebo effect, but in today's litigious climate, I'd be very surprised if modern doctors were actually engaging in the necessary equivocation to produce the placebo effect. My take on modern medicine is that most doctors in the U.S. are pretty much limited to cover-your-ass medicine. That is, ordering unnecessary tests and writing unnecessary prescriptions.

willwagner 17y ago
I imagine that some prescriptions for antibiotics by doctors are more or less because the doctor doubts it calls for antibiotics but rationalizes that the placebo effect will help, coupled with patient's angst that they may leave the doctor's office empty-handed.
- jacquesm 17y ago
  Anti-biotics are not prescribed unless there is some need for them because there are serious detrimental side effects of using anti-biotics when they are not strictly speaking required. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_resistance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_resistance
  - ryandvm 17y ago
    From your replies, it's pretty clear that you're not familiar with medicine in the United States. Antibiotics are frequently prescribed without necessity by doctors that would rather have a happy (and continuing) customer than lose a client for doing the right thing.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      That's extremely irresponsible of them. This is what was probably a direct consequence of such behaviour (it started in the UK and has since spread worldwide): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphylococcus_aureus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphyloc... As for me not being familiar with medicine in the US, you are correct, I have lived in Canada and currently live in Europe.
      - Tichy 17y ago
        It happens in Europe, too. Sometimes you could be forgiven for thinking that prescribing antibiotics is the only skill some physicians have.
        jacquesm 17y ago
        Penicillin basically started an arms race that we can't possibly win in the long term. Pretty scary thought.
  - tedunangst 17y ago
    Tetracycline is routinely prescribed for acne, which isn't much of a need, strictly speaking.
jacquesm 17y ago
Two things, one: the world is a lot larger than just the US. Two: doctors aren't going to go out of their way to tell their patients they just got some compressed sugar because that would take away the effect. There is a class of patients that will run to the GP every chance they get and they won't leave until the doctor 'has done something' which translates in to 'had prescribed them some medicine'. In these cases doctors prescribe placebos without any qualms at all, and to the happiness of both the patient (the placebo works!), insurance company (they're cheap) and the GP (patient leaves them alone).
- ced 17y ago
  There was a TED talk by an Indian neurologist who said that placebo works even if you don't believe in it.

by ryandvm 17y ago

willwagner 17y ago

I imagine that some prescriptions for antibiotics by doctors are more or less because the doctor doubts it calls for antibiotics but rationalizes that the placebo effect will help, coupled with patient's angst that they may leave the doctor's office empty-handed.

jacquesm 17y ago
Anti-biotics are not prescribed unless there is some need for them because there are serious detrimental side effects of using anti-biotics when they are not strictly speaking required. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_resistance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_resistance
- ryandvm 17y ago
  From your replies, it's pretty clear that you're not familiar with medicine in the United States. Antibiotics are frequently prescribed without necessity by doctors that would rather have a happy (and continuing) customer than lose a client for doing the right thing.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    That's extremely irresponsible of them. This is what was probably a direct consequence of such behaviour (it started in the UK and has since spread worldwide): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphylococcus_aureus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphyloc... As for me not being familiar with medicine in the US, you are correct, I have lived in Canada and currently live in Europe.
    - Tichy 17y ago
      It happens in Europe, too. Sometimes you could be forgiven for thinking that prescribing antibiotics is the only skill some physicians have.
      - jacquesm 17y ago
        Penicillin basically started an arms race that we can't possibly win in the long term. Pretty scary thought.
- tedunangst 17y ago
  Tetracycline is routinely prescribed for acne, which isn't much of a need, strictly speaking.

jacquesm 17y ago

Two things, one: the world is a lot larger than just the US. Two: doctors aren't going to go out of their way to tell their patients they just got some compressed sugar because that would take away the effect. There is a class of patients that will run to the GP every chance they get and they won't leave until the doctor 'has done something' which translates in to 'had prescribed them some medicine'. In these cases doctors prescribe placebos without any qualms at all, and to the happiness of both the patient (the placebo works!), insurance company (they're cheap) and the GP (patient leaves them alone).

ced 17y ago
There was a TED talk by an Indian neurologist who said that placebo works even if you don't believe in it.