If you recently received some medications in pill form (among others) from your doctor, did they work to help solve the medical malaise you were facing? If so, did you know those could have been placebo pills. In essence, sugar pills or "nothing" pills?

A survey was released last week stated that many doctors give patients placebos. In fact, three Chicago-area medical centers saw a 50% positive response rate from physicians who said they use placebos with some patients. Is this legal? Ethical? Brilliant?

It's the age-old "mental treatment" that's been around in medical schools for a very long time. The simple act of administering treatment can cause patient effects before any biological assistance from drugs or otherwise has even had time to work.

Is this the correct thing to do when a patient 'needs' some drug they saw on television in unjustified fashion or when a doctor simply wants to calm down an overactive patient in his office? That remains to be seen, as there is no law against administering placebos. What do you believe?