Placebos expert Kathryn T Hall: ‘The effect can rival painkillers like ibuprofen or even morphine’

The Harvard professor says we need to stop seeing dummy medicines as a novelty and instead make strides to understand them better and harness their power

The placebo effect occurs when an inert treatment such as a dummy pill, fake injection or sham surgery leads to a real clinical improvement in symptoms. So strong is the effect it can be the bane of clinical trials, which must prove a drug's efficacy beyond a placebo control. An assistant professor of medicine at Harvard medical school, Kathryn T Hall is a leader in placebo research. Her new book, Placebos, unpicks their power.

You argue that placebo effects are underappreciated. How?
They are often seen as more of a novelty than a bona fide neuropsychological response. Physicians can feel uncomfortable because this unknown phenomenon can have a big impact. And many clinical triallists seem to be in denial about the threat of placebos to drug development. I want to bring placebos to common conversations - not just as an anomaly or something to beat" in clinical trials, but as something that we can think seriously about and maybe even harness.