A study that was recently featured in a Time Magazine article and also published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine , showed that 45% of the 466 academic physicians in the Chicago area disclosed that they have prescribed a placebo for a patient. It has led to initiating a discussion about the deception in general in medicine and in specific ethics of prescribing placebos.
A placebo is defined as a biologically inactive treatment. it could be a sugar pill. Any perceived benefit that a person can derive from taking a placebo is attributed to a combination of factors. These factors include non-specific effects and biased observation and collectively refer to as the placebo effect.
Almost 30 years ago, the relationship between a patient and a physician was quite paternalistic. It means that the physician would do what they considered was best for their patients just like a parent would do for their child. It also means that a kind of benign deception was often utilized. This would also include prescribing treatments that were thought to be ineffective or inactive. Sometimes the deception involves acts of omission – for instance, a doctor may not tell a patient that their illness was incurable and terminal. One reason so behind could be to not needlessly upset the patient. An example of this type of deception is as follows: In the past, the patients were prescribed methylene blue as an active placebo. Methylene Blue is a substance that is filtered unchanged and as is by the kidneys . Moreover, it will transform the urine deep blue. Older physicians had the practice of telling patients that their disease was caused by a benign tumor and that the methylene blue would completely dissolve the tumor. furthermore. the physicians would inform the patients once the urine turned blue , they would know that the treatment has been successful. The reason behind this deceptive action was to convince a patient who was considered to …show more content…
It is more of a health care provider-client relationship. This new relationship is based on cooperation and the patient is a full partner. The guiding principle behind this that every person has a right to be fully informed in order to make the best decisions. Moreover, this way people feel more empowered and in control of their own healthcare. This trend is also driven by easy access to general medical information for everyone. These days,it is even common for patients to present to their physician with printed pages from the …show more content…
It means that the older physicians seem to possess an older style of practice. In addition, these trends may be superimposed by individual differences amongst the healthcare providers. In my personal experience, I feel that the patients can also mainly determine the nature of the relationship they have with their doctors. Even in cases when patients are entirely empowered of their health care, a few patients will give in to the expertise of their doctors. in this regard,physicians must be in tune with their patient’s desires . Simply stated, some patients want more information from their physicians , and others like to be told what to do, and many patients want a combination of both.
To sum it , I feel that within modern medicine ,there is not any room for outright and deliberate deception.Honesty, full disclosure and informed consent, full disclosure are essential within the context of scientific research and a healthy patient-physician relationship. However, healthcare providers need to balance realism with hope,improve bedside manners and show compassion when it comes to what information is
A placebo is defined as a biologically inactive treatment. it could be a sugar pill. Any perceived benefit that a person can derive from taking a placebo is attributed to a combination of factors. These factors include non-specific effects and biased observation and collectively refer to as the placebo effect.
Almost 30 years ago, the relationship between a patient and a physician was quite paternalistic. It means that the physician would do what they considered was best for their patients just like a parent would do for their child. It also means that a kind of benign deception was often utilized. This would also include prescribing treatments that were thought to be ineffective or inactive. Sometimes the deception involves acts of omission – for instance, a doctor may not tell a patient that their illness was incurable and terminal. One reason so behind could be to not needlessly upset the patient. An example of this type of deception is as follows: In the past, the patients were prescribed methylene blue as an active placebo. Methylene Blue is a substance that is filtered unchanged and as is by the kidneys . Moreover, it will transform the urine deep blue. Older physicians had the practice of telling patients that their disease was caused by a benign tumor and that the methylene blue would completely dissolve the tumor. furthermore. the physicians would inform the patients once the urine turned blue , they would know that the treatment has been successful. The reason behind this deceptive action was to convince a patient who was considered to …show more content…
It is more of a health care provider-client relationship. This new relationship is based on cooperation and the patient is a full partner. The guiding principle behind this that every person has a right to be fully informed in order to make the best decisions. Moreover, this way people feel more empowered and in control of their own healthcare. This trend is also driven by easy access to general medical information for everyone. These days,it is even common for patients to present to their physician with printed pages from the …show more content…
It means that the older physicians seem to possess an older style of practice. In addition, these trends may be superimposed by individual differences amongst the healthcare providers. In my personal experience, I feel that the patients can also mainly determine the nature of the relationship they have with their doctors. Even in cases when patients are entirely empowered of their health care, a few patients will give in to the expertise of their doctors. in this regard,physicians must be in tune with their patient’s desires . Simply stated, some patients want more information from their physicians , and others like to be told what to do, and many patients want a combination of both.
To sum it , I feel that within modern medicine ,there is not any room for outright and deliberate deception.Honesty, full disclosure and informed consent, full disclosure are essential within the context of scientific research and a healthy patient-physician relationship. However, healthcare providers need to balance realism with hope,improve bedside manners and show compassion when it comes to what information is