Full disclosure
As you're well aware, there are hundreds of double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials being conducted at any given time. But what you may not realize is that you've very likely been the subject of one of these studies (albeit on a much smaller scale). According to a study published earlier this year in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, almost 50 percent of physicians surveyed admitted to prescribing placebos to their patients. What concerns the American Medical Association about this revelation is that only 4 percent of the placebo-prescribing physicians actually tell their patients about it. The AMA contends that this practice infringes on patients' right to informed consent of any treatment being administered by a physician. I see their point, and while I don't necessarily disagree, that's not what bothers me most about this discovery. My primary concern is that the things these doctors are prescribing as placebos are anything but. By definition, a placebo is "an inactive substance containing no medication." And in and of themselves, placebos can be a valuable therapeutic tool. Numerous studies have shown that the proverbial "placebo effect" is a very real phenomenon. But according to the article I read, "Among the placebos doctors used were antibiotics (prescribed for nonbacterial diagnoses), vitamins, ibuprofen, subtherapeutic medication doses, herbal supplements and saline infusions." Not a single item on that list fits the definition of a placebo. And the fact that so many doctors think of them as such is an even more frightening commentary on American mainstream medicine than the subsequent lack of informed consent. Ask your doctors if they've ever prescribed placebos and, if so, what types. If their definitions don't match yours, tell them so -- and let them know that if placebos ever enter into your treatment protocol, you expect them to be the real deal, not watered down versions of drugs or other substances that they think "can't hurt." Sources:
"Doctors use placebos but don't tell patients," American Medical News (www.ama- assn.org), 1/28/08
"Academic Physicians Use Placebos in Clinical Practice and Believe in the Mind-Body Connection," Journal of General Internal Medicine 2008; 23(1): 7-10 | 
