Placebo effect: Survey gives life to ethical debate

USA Today, December 11, 2008

A nationwide survey this year suggested that as many as half of U.S. doctors prescribe a a placebo at least once a month. Doctors have known about the placebo effect, a product of the interaction between mind and body, for decades. But is it ethical for doctors to deceive patients by not telling them? The survey has helped fuel debate about whether their potential to make patients feel better outweighs doctors' responsibility to be truthful.