Placebo Effects, Essay Example

Placebo effect refers to a medical phenomenon where a patient is given a treatment, which has no effect in the body, but is intended to make the patient think that it does. The patient undergoing such treatment may have an apparent or genuine improvement in the medical condition (Howard 114).

Although recent studies into the placebo effect have shown that it has significant positive attributes towards its patients’ conditions, the fact remains that it uses deception as its fundamental principle. Therefore, I do not believe that there should be any procedural changes in the medical standard of care in light of its research because to the basic idea of moral reciprocity. The hope is that physicians treat their patients in a way that shows their rightful place as fellow human beings with equal rights to respect (Miller and Rosenstein 332).

Therefore, this principle entails that physicians have a morally ethical duty not to practice deception and manipulation even if they perceive the outcomes to be of good to the patient. The medical society has much to lose since its reputation solely lies on the fact that the patient will not find out about the false treatment: if they do, they will lose faith and trust in their physicians (Howard 115). A lot of research about the placebo effect is still ongoing, but the consensus among all researchers is that this effect cannot cure disease nor provide long-term health benefits including increasing length of life (Miller and Rosenstein 334).

In conclusion, I do not condemn the practice nor feel that it should have no place in society, but the negative consequences of this practice condemn it. Therefore, it would be irrational to bring changes to medical standard of care due to a form of treatment that may or may not give short-term benefits and has ongoing debate about its practice.

Work Cited

Howard, Brody. The Lie That Heals:The Ethics of Giving Placebos. Annals of Internal   Medicine (1982): 112-118

Miller FG and Rosenstein DL. The nature and power of the placebo effect. Journal of    Clinical Epidemiology (2006): 331-335