A group of researchers at the University of Chicago were surprised to find how common prescribing placebos was among doctors who answered a survey.

Researchers at the University of Chicago said on Thursday they found in their study that approximately half of those who answered the survey said they had handed out a placebo to a patient; that is, a harmless “dummy” pill that had no evidence it would be effective.

Placebos appear to function despite their lack of chemical qualities, in that patients taking them believe their condition will improve and actually do feel better. Studies have shown how placebos can actually be efficient in depression and pain, through the power of suggestion.

As for the current findings of the survey, lead author Rachel Sherman told Reuters: “It illustrates that doctors believe expectation and belief have therapeutic potential.”

The study was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Sherman, a medical student at the University of Chicago and Dr. John Hickner, a family medicine professor at the University of Chicago, sent surveys to 466 internists at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and University of Illinois at Chicago. About half responded.

Of these, 48 percent said they had handed out a placebo at least once in their clinical practice. Those who reported using a placebo in clinical practice were also asked to detail the process.

Some 34 percent reported they had told patients they would give them a substance that was something that “may help and will not hurt,” reports Reuters. Another third said things like, “this may help you but I am not sure how it works.”

Nineteen percent said it was a “medication,” while 9 percent called it “a medicine with no specific effect.” Only 4 percent of the doctors used the word “placebo” in handing out the medicine.

Of those who answered the survey, only 12 percent said placebos never should be used.

Sherman wrote doctors who answered the survey said they used a placebo in a number of situations: to calm a patient, to supplement other treatments; to satisfy a patient's unjustified demand for medication; to control pain, etc, as quoted by the Chicago Sun-Tribune.

A few respondents said they sometimes give placebos to put a stop to patients’ complaining.

The practice of using placebos brings up ethical issues. Some say giving placebos is deceiving towards patients, who have the right to know what kind of treatment they are receiving and need to give their consent.

Sherman noted that one main reason why doctors do not tell patients they are taking a dummy pill is that they need to believe the so-called medication works in other to believe in the improvement of their health.

She told Reuters that one possible solution was to ask all new patients for their consent before beginning treatment. “The patient could say no. Then you avoid any of these ethical questions,” Sherman said.