An enormous amount of research has been done on placebos. If the results are to be believed, we could save a great deal of money by substituting placebos for traditional medical care. But so far as I know, I am the only person suggesting this as a realistic possibility.

Estimates vary, but around one third of people taking placebos for complaints (including pain, headache and seasickness) will experience relief from symptoms. Here are some amazing facts about placebos:

Aaron Carroll has an excellent summary of the research on placebo surgeries at The Incidental Economist. Take arthroscopic surgery:

A total of 180 patients who had osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly assigned (with their consent) to one of three groups. The first had a standard arthroscopic procedure, and the second had lavage. The third, however, had sham surgery. They had an incision, and a procedure was faked so that they didnt know that they actually had nothing done. Then the incision was closed.

The results were stunning. Those who had the actual procedures did no better than those who had the sham surgery. They all improved the same amount. The results were all in peoples heads.

Carroll gives other examples:

Carrolss solution to all this: stop doing procedures that work no better than a placebo. My solution: substitute placebos and placebo surgeries. Theyre cheaper.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Excerpt from:

Can Placebos Lower Health Care Costs?