Doctors prescribe drugs that don't work
Three out of four New Zealand doctors have prescribed placebo medications to patients, new research suggests.
Medical researcher Shaun Holt said the practice could be costing the taxpayer several million dollars.
The placebo effect exists, therefore if a drug improves someone's condition, it has 'worked'. The writer tells us as much in the article;
Placebos are associated with the release of natural painkillers in the brain, including dopamine. Taking a placebo creates a "self-reinforcing feedback loop" in the brain: during pain an individual recalls having taken the placebo and reduced pain reinforces its status as a painkiller. About one-in-three people appear susceptible to placebo effects.
Doctors are quite probably adept at identifying the one in three.
And what about prescribing drugs as a diagnostic tool? If the doctor guesses wrong, the drug 'doesn't work'. But it does eliminate one possible diagnosis so hasn't been a waste of money.
There is a subtle but significant difference between a drug not doing what it is therapeutically supposed to do and it being a waste of money.
6 comments:
Hi Lindsay - you're right, that was not the message that I was trying to get across, I've posted the media release here....
Media Release
Cheers. Shaun
My problem wasn't with you, Shaun. It was the way in which the media frames what are often quite complex issues. Thanks for the link.
The Dom Post looks (and reads) more and more lightweight these days.
Time to reconsider renewing the subscription.
Well said, Lindsay. Clearly placebos "work" because the patient gets better. It makes absolutely no difference if the medication was active or inert as the desired result was achieved.
As I have said on my blog, the only proviso for using placebos ethically is that there is no evidence based therapy that could be used instead. Otherwise it is perfectly ethical and by no means a waste of money if people get well!
It was reported well on TV1 last night...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj0V1nKCTmc
Cheers
Shaun
I feel a little sorry for you Docs who have people demanding drugs for conditions that don't require them. It doesn't surprise me that you prescribe placebos in certain cases.
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