Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Can digital medicine have a placebo effect?

Dike Drummond, MD
Tech
September 9, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share

Is the placebo effect something that demands the presence of a living human – or can we program it into a cell phone app? What happens to healthcare if we can?

I must admit I have always been fascinated by the concept of placebos. You give a research subject with a documented medical condition a sugar pill – and they get better. They heal themselves despite the fact they have not swallowed anything known to have an effect on their disease. Placebos are fascinating, yet the placebo effect is what is truly inspiring.

What is it about the encounter with the researcher that triggers the patient’s natural healing mechanisms? What did the doctor do or say? What did the patient hear and feel? How can we learn to use this ability to inspire the patient to heal themselves consciously?

I have always wanted this superpower — to be a board certified placebologist.

There is an entire matrix of raging debates on what causes the placebo effect. The Wikipedia page for “placebo effect” is the largest I have ever seen.  I am just a simple country doctor and here are my old school beliefs on its origin.

When a sick, hurting or scared person seeks out the advice of a healthcare provider and is given advice and treatment that they understand and the assurance of follow up if things go awry, it triggers a cascade of physiologic effects that modern science is incapable of measuring at this time. The result is healing.

The healing can occur without outside assistance — as the placebo effect in drug studies shows — or it can augment whatever medication or procedure you might also prescribe.  I believe it is the human qualities of attention and caring that trigger the placebo effect. These exist parallel to the provider’s ability to diagnose and select an appropriate medical treatment.

You can arrive at the correct diagnosis and treatment and not trigger a placebo effect. You can fail to make eye contact, write out a prescription, hand it to the patient and walk out the door.  Right answer — no placebo effect.  Your skills as a placebologist rely on the ability to create the expectation of healing in the patient. This is most definitely part of the art of medicine.

If you have different thoughts on the placebo effect and how to practice the art of placebology, please leave a comment. The bigger question for me is this.

Can the computer scientists write a program that exerts a placebo effect?

My hope and belief is that the answer is no. I admit that I am an old school doctor. I believe that being an empathetic, caring, competent human being in the physical presence of my patients makes a huge difference. This is why the epidemic of compassion fatigue and burnout in medicine is so damaging to our profession.

With the tidal wave of clinical data that will soon come from the universal adoption of electronic medical records, it is highly likely that our clinical decision making skills will be replicated by computers very soon.

If they figure out a way for the programs to feel like they actually care about you and solve the riddle of capturing the art of placebology in binary code, we will be all out of a job.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dike Drummond is a Mayo-trained family practice physician, burnout survivor, executive coach, consultant, and founder of TheHappyMD.com. He teaches simple methods to help individual physicians and organizations recognize and prevent physician burnout. These tools were discovered and tested through Dr. Drummond’s 3,000+ hours of physician coaching experience. Since 2010, he has also delivered physician wellness training to over 40,000 doctors on behalf of 175 corporate and association clients on four continents. His current work is focused on the 7 Habits of Physician Wellbeing. Dr. Drummond has also trained 250 Physician Wellness Champions, and his Quadruple Aim Blueprint Corporate Physician Wellness Strategy is designed to launch all five components in a single onsite day. He can also be reached on Facebook, X @dikedrummond, and on his podcast, Physicians on Purpose.

Prev

Health reform is not a threat, it's an opportunity

September 8, 2012 Kevin 20
…
Next

The secret sauce of great health care organizations

September 9, 2012 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Health IT, Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Health reform is not a threat, it's an opportunity
Next Post >
The secret sauce of great health care organizations

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Dike Drummond, MD

  • Stop physician burnout: the hidden danger of AI note-writing software

    Dike Drummond, MD
  • Why resilience training alone won’t fix physician burnout

    Dike Drummond, MD
  • Ensure your physicians always have crisis support: 5-step awareness program

    Dike Drummond, MD

Related Posts

  • From penicillin to digital health: the impact of social media on medicine

    Homer Moutran, MD, MBA, Caline El-Khoury, PhD, and Danielle Wilson
  • Digital advances in the medical aid in dying movement

    Jennifer Lynn
  • How social media can advance humanism in medicine

    Pooja Lakshmin, MD
  • Street medicine: You don’t know about it, but you don’t care to

    Ti Hoang
  • Family medicine and the fight for the soul of health care

    Timothy Hoff, PhD
  • Can personalized medicine live up to its hype in health care?

    Ketan Desai, MD, PhD

More in Tech

  • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

    Sandra Johnson
  • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

    David Carmouche, MD
  • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

    Miguel Villagra, MD
  • How self-improving AI systems are redefining intelligence and what it means for health care

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • How blockchain could rescue nursing home patients from deadly miscommunication

    Adwait Chafale
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

      Kara Pepper, MD | Physician
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Earwax could hold secrets to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease

      Sandra Vamos, EdD and Domenic Alaim | Conditions
    • Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 2 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Marketing as a clinician isn’t about selling. It’s about trust.

      Kara Pepper, MD | Physician
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Earwax could hold secrets to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease

      Sandra Vamos, EdD and Domenic Alaim | Conditions
    • Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Can digital medicine have a placebo effect?
2 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...