Discussions

Technically speaking, we have been using placebos for thousands of years. Ancient medicines and rituals practiced by earlier humans were often (at best) medically inert. The Ebers Papyrus (1500 B.C.) listed hundreds of prescriptions used in ancient Egypt, with modern study finding the vast majority to be “medically worthless.” Whether intentional or not, these were placebo interventions.

Dr. Noorali Bharwani reflects on why dying with dignity is the best way to go.

You can liberate the fish, but as Dr. Gary Kinney explains, you can’t ensure they’ll survive the battle.

After too many years of chronic pain, a proper diagnosis gives elite athlete Dr. Janet Green her life back.

After a winter that seemed like forever, full of COVID, divisive politics and other woes, Dr. Ted Jablonski has a somewhat unusual summer prescription for getting back to feeling a little more normal.

Last month I closed my practice in the big city because my husband and I bought a house on an island. It was a challenging three-month transition process, yet I had some valuable insights about how doctors can say goodbye to their patients.

In the wake of a tragic mass shooting that killed several school children in Texas, doctors around the world have been discussing how often they’ve seen—and treated—wounds and trauma from gun and other types of violence.

In this safe space, Dr. Melissa Yuan-Innes reflects on what can go wrong—and sometimes does.

It is imperative that pharmacy is engaging with these companies to ensure that they are aware of the range of services that pharmacists can perform for patients.

I don’t always think about my impact on my patients, but it seems I have made an impact on this woman. Now, through her kindness, things have somehow come full circle to have made a huge impact on me too.