Author(s)
Sara Wettergreen, PharmD, BCACP
Joseph Nardolillo, PharmD
Reviewed By
Ashley H. Meredith, PharmD, BCACP, BCPS, CDCES
Brian Cross, PharmD, BCACP, CDE
Brandi Dahl, PharmD, BCPS
Lindsey Foltanski, PharmD
Citation
Webster RK, Weinman J, Rubin GJ. Positively Framed Risk Information in Patient Information Leaflets Reduces Side Effect Reporting: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Ann Behav Med. 2018;52(11):920‐929.
The Problem
Imagine you have recommended the initiation of statin therapy to a patient with diabetes. A few weeks later, the patient experiences bilateral leg pain and stops statin therapy. Was this patient’s leg pain directly caused by the statin? Or was it a nocebo effect? Muscle symptoms in placebo-controlled trials of statin therapy range from 3-5%, while rates in real-world observational studies are between 15-20%.1,2 Ambulatory care pharmacists have an important role in recognizing and managing placebo and nocebo effects. Understanding placebo effects allows clinicians to harness the power of placebo effects, while reframing risks during patient education may decrease nocebo effects.
What’s Known
Loading ...
iForumRx.org is a web-based community of practice designed to inform ambulatory care pharmacy specialists, pharmacy residents, and student pharmacists about high-quality, practice-changing evidence.