Snipped from PhysOrg.com.

Short answer: maybe. It seems that physicians are not taking placebos as lightly as we once thought. The placebo effect, “a therapeutical effect based solely on the power of suggestion” that has showed up in all clinical trials and is commonly used scientifically in pharmaceutical research, is said to be used by 45% of Chicago internists when prescribing to patients.

Of course, along with everything else, there is an ethic quandary that follows. Is this simple, harmless trickery by the doctor for the good of the patient, or is it harmful and deceitful to lie about what the patient is taking.

In my opinion, as long as the placebo used is nothing more than sugar water or an equivalent, well, then who cares? As long as you’re better, and there was no risk of the side effects that all drugs carry, then no harm done. I think we need to stop looking at ourselves as victims in the world of disease and decay, and start to perceive our minds as more powerful agents in these biochemical machines. We have the world’s most powerful pharmacy right under … ahem, behind our noses. So, let’s start to use it.

Here is a small portion of the article:

“Placebos have been used in medicine since ancient times, and remain both clinically relevant and philosophically interesting. In addition to their recognized use as controls in clinical trials, this study suggests that placebos themselves are viewed as therapeutic tools in medical practice,” says Sherman.

Of the respondents who reported using placebos in clinical practice, 34 percent introduced the placebos to the patient as “a substance that may help and will not hurt.” Nineteen percent said, “it is medication,” and nine percent said, “it is medicine with no specific effect.” Only four percent of the physicians explicitly said, “it is a placebo.” In addition, 33 percent of the physicians reported they gave other information to patients, including, “this may help you but I am not sure how it works.”

Only 12 percent of respondents said that placebo use should be categorically prohibited. The authors write that in the broader ethics literature, the routine use of placebos is controversial. Some commentators on informed consent and non-deceptive therapeutics caution against the use of placebos in medical practice. Others propose that the placebo effect can be harnessed in various therapeutic contexts that do not pose ethical dilemmas.

In addition, the authors say a growing number of physicians believe in mind-body connection; which means what a person thinks can impact the health and well-being of the body. Rather than using placebos to differentiate between patients who were faking their symptoms and those with genuine symptoms, as the majority of physicians did according to research several decades ago, 96 percent of physicians in this study believed placebos can have therapeutic benefits for patients.