Prescriptions of Essentially Placebo Treatments Among General Practitioners in 21 Countries.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

General practitioners (GPs) sometimes initiate a treatment despite not expecting it to improve patients' symptoms by any physiological mechanism. These essentially placebo treatments are ethically controversial, and their frequency is unclear. They involve risks for patients, but to estimate these, more data are needed.

Objective

To develop a more precise overview of the rate at which GPs prescribe essentially placebo treatments.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional survey study included currently practicing GPs from 20 European countries and Israel who responded to online questionnaires. The online questionnaires were taken between December 12, 2019, and August 4, 2021, and analyzed on April 28, 2022. Respondents were contacted by nationa

SUBMITTER: Wolters F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12447254 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature