Today, most physicians would prescribe a placebo to a patient who doesn't need treatment but demands it as compared to 2010, according to the Medscape Ethics Report 2014, Part 2: Money, Romance and Patients.
The survey polled more than 17,000 physicians.
When asked whether they would provide an innocuous treatment to a patient who doesn’t need it but demands it, physicians reported the following in 2014 vs. 2010:
• Yes — 42 percent (in 2014) vs. 24 percent (in 2010)
• No — 37 percent vs. 59 percent
• It depends — 21 percent vs. 19 percent
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