Spring Break
Placebo's cost reflects its effectiveness
Andrew Cross, Daily Vidette Staff
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: News
A recent study conducted by medical experts from different institutions found that our expectations can play a very important role when it comes to the field of health and medicine.
The study involved more than 80 volunteers, each of whom was told about a new FDA approved pain-reliever. Researchers gave out brochures that informed half of the group that the drug was regularly priced at $2.50, while the other half was informed that the drug they were receiving had been discounted to 10 cents.
The scientists then administered minor electrical shocks to the participants both before and after they ingested the pill.
As with many psychological studies in the field of medicine, the pills involved were placebos, nothing more than Vitamin C supplements. But in this case, the classic placebo effect took a turn.
Researchers found that 61 percent of those taking "discounted" pills said they experienced a lesser amount of pain compared with 85 percent of the participants who believed they were consuming regularly priced medications.
"People do have a naive theory that more expensive medications will work better than generic brands," Stephen Garcia, adjunct assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, said. "Part of the reason is that people typically infer the quality [of a medication] from its price."
With rising costs in healthcare, some believe consumers may quickly become victims.
"Advertisers can take advantage of consumers, especially in cases where the...treatment is complex and the consumer is uninformed," Garcia noted.
Chief researcher Dan Ariely of Duke University believes the results point to bigger and broader questions about the nature of the placebo effect.
Experts have used the placebo effect for years in the form of fake pills and injections that can shape the expectations and improve the health of patients suffering from a variety of ailments, but doubts remain.
"There is great resistance to actually using placebo as a treatment," Jason Dana, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, said. "It is…viewed as ethically questionable to deceive a patient."
Nevertheless, studies on the placebo effect continue to yield surprising results, leading experts to believe the best is yet to come.
The study involved more than 80 volunteers, each of whom was told about a new FDA approved pain-reliever. Researchers gave out brochures that informed half of the group that the drug was regularly priced at $2.50, while the other half was informed that the drug they were receiving had been discounted to 10 cents.
The scientists then administered minor electrical shocks to the participants both before and after they ingested the pill.
As with many psychological studies in the field of medicine, the pills involved were placebos, nothing more than Vitamin C supplements. But in this case, the classic placebo effect took a turn.
Researchers found that 61 percent of those taking "discounted" pills said they experienced a lesser amount of pain compared with 85 percent of the participants who believed they were consuming regularly priced medications.
"People do have a naive theory that more expensive medications will work better than generic brands," Stephen Garcia, adjunct assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, said. "Part of the reason is that people typically infer the quality [of a medication] from its price."
With rising costs in healthcare, some believe consumers may quickly become victims.
"Advertisers can take advantage of consumers, especially in cases where the...treatment is complex and the consumer is uninformed," Garcia noted.
Chief researcher Dan Ariely of Duke University believes the results point to bigger and broader questions about the nature of the placebo effect.
Experts have used the placebo effect for years in the form of fake pills and injections that can shape the expectations and improve the health of patients suffering from a variety of ailments, but doubts remain.
"There is great resistance to actually using placebo as a treatment," Jason Dana, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, said. "It is…viewed as ethically questionable to deceive a patient."
Nevertheless, studies on the placebo effect continue to yield surprising results, leading experts to believe the best is yet to come.
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