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The placebo effect: So strong, doctors don’t even have to lie!
Almost everyone has heard about the placebo effect – the finding that treatment that have no particularly relevant effect (like a sugar or vitamin pill, or a behavioral equivalent) can make patients feel better. The placebo effect is actually the reason that all FDA approved drugs have to go through a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial…
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Does current smoking among health care providers limit their ability to dissuade smoking to the general public?
This post discusses findings from a recent study of current smoking prevalence among eight groups of health care provider in the US and asks the question: does a national reduction in current smoking first require a reduction in current smoking among health care providers?
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How doctors treat doctors with drug use problems: Addiction treatment that works
Physician Health Programs (PHP) are reporting an astonishing success rate when it comes to providing addiction treatment for addicted doctors: Only about 20% of doctors ever test positive after being admitted to the program within a 5 year period. More than 70% maintain their license and continue working within the same 5 year period. These…
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Is anonymity the final shame frontier in addiction?
I’m a drug addict and a sex addict, and as far as I’m concerned, staying anonymous let’s me remain buried in shame, and a double life, that keeps me always one step ahead of those close to me. Did I say too much? Did I give away my secrets? None of those questions matter when…
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More from AHSR – Addiction research to increase treatment success
Okay, there was almost too much to cover in a single post today. Actually, hold the almost. I want to cover a few of the basic things we talked about today, but many of the rest will have to be incorporated into future posts. Yesterday, I wrote about talks having to do with new ideas…