Associate Professor Ben Colagiuri

What are the benefits of Placebos?

“We already know that doctors and GPs use placebos regularly overseas,” Associate Professor Ben Colagiuri said. “So, we wanted to see what was happening in Australia. We found that placebo use is also relatively common here. The good news is that Australian GPs are predominantly using placebos because they believe that there's some real benefit to them. They are simply trying to help their patients.”



The more concerning news, Associate Professor Colagiuri said, is that in some cases GPs are also prescribing antibiotics, an active medication, for purposes other than its design.

“The most common case is when a GP prescribes antibiotics when they know or strongly suspect that the patient doesn't have a bacterial infection,” he said. “In these cases, they are prescribing antibiotics as a type of placebo, often because a patient expects or demands treatment. But antibiotics can have side effects and there are problems with antibiotic resistance if we prescribe antibiotics too much.”

According to Associate Professor Colagiuri, one of the most important findings coming from the study is that GPs felt that medical trainees could benefit from more education about the placebo effect.

“Currently, there are no guidelines on placebo use in clinical practice in Australia. As such, GPs and other medical professionals are left to make up their own minds as to if, at all, and how to use placebos. It is really important for medical professionals and patients that we develop evidenced-based guidelines for placebo use in Australia.”