In the past, placebos were viewed negatively (Specter 90). Many research and studies have been conducted and their results helped the scientist and medical communities to know more about placebo (Specter 91). Therefore, in the present time, the way that people view placebos have changed: the idea of using a placebo is getting more accepted by the medical community because the results of the studies showed that many people can have some benefits from using placebos and doctors can still prescribe them to their patients (Freedman 83). In clinical practice, the use of placebo should be regulated by a policy that takes into consideration three main aspects.
The first recommendation for the policy is that doctors should offer to their patients the possibility to decide if they want to know if the medication prescribed is a placebo. The reason is to avoid distrust between the patient and the doctor (Bok 101). If the patient was not given the
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Furthermore, if the person discovers that it was a placebo, he/she will be conscious that he/she initially rejected to know about it. As for the patients that decide to be aware that the treatment or the medication is a placebo, the effect can still work to treat their condition (Hall 111). However, doctors should reduce the possibility for their patients that consented to know about the placebo to not suffer from bad side effects by not mentioning the possibility of it for a treatment because Harriet Hall has reported in the article “The Placebo Effect” that patients will likely feel nauseous if they are told that the treatment might cause nausea even if the inert substance is supposed to have no effect (108). Finally, for the last two cases mentioned, the relationship between the doctor and the patient won’t become untrustworthy and it will be more honest (Hall