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Placebo and deception: a commentary.

Anne Barnhill1, Franklin G Miller2

  • 1University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA anne.barnhill@gmail.com.

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|December 16, 2014
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This critique argues that prescribing comparable placebo treatments (CPTs) without disclosure is deceptive, not a self-fulfilling prophecy. Undisclosed CPTs constitute medical deception, challenging prior ethical justifications.

Keywords:
deceptionethicsmanipulationplacebo treatment

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Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Clinical Pharmacology

Background:

  • Comparable placebo treatments (CPTs) are placebo drugs with biological effects similar to active medications.
  • Cohen and Shapiro (2013) argued that prescribing CPTs without disclosure is not deceptive.
  • This article critiques the ethical justification for undisclosed CPT use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critique the arguments presented by Cohen and Shapiro regarding comparable placebo treatments.
  • To analyze the ethical implications of prescribing undisclosed placebos in clinical practice.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical and ethical analysis of arguments concerning placebo treatments.
  • Critique of "comparable placebo treatments" (CPTs) ethical framework.
  • Examination of deception and equivocation in medical practice.

Main Results:

  • The article argues that offering undisclosed placebos is a direct case of deceptively misleading patients.
  • It contends that undisclosed CPTs typically involve equivocation or other forms of deception.
  • Justification for undisclosed placebo use would require acknowledging its generally deceptive nature.

Conclusions:

  • Undisclosed comparable placebo treatments are ethically problematic due to inherent deception.
  • The practice challenges established principles of patient autonomy and informed consent.
  • Ethical justification for such practices remains highly contested and requires careful consideration of deceptive elements.