Price plays part in perceived power of medication
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—When people think that a medication is expensive, they tend to report more benefit than when they think the drug is cheap, a new study finds.
In fact, 85 percent of people when given what they was told as an expensive painkiller said they had reduction in pain, compared with 61 percent of those given the same pill, which they were told was cheap. Most surprisingly, both were the same placebo pill, Health News reported.
When we gave people medication, a pain placebo, which was discounted, it was less effective, they said.
A placebo works on the power of expectations, they explained. “When people doubt the efficacy, the efficacy goes down, in this case because of a discount,” they said.
The interesting thing is that marketing variables that havenothing to do with the medication modulate expectation, and therefore can modulate the efficacy of medication.”
In the study, Ariely’s team gave 82 people a light electricshock to measure their perception of pain. This test was given before and after the individuals were given what they were told was a pain pill.
Half the people were given a brochure that described a newpainkiller that cost $2.50 a dose. The remaining individuals were given a brochure that described the pill as having been marked down to 10 cents.
The researchers found that among those who thought the pillcost $2.50, 85 percent reported having pain relief. However, for those given the 10-cent pill, only 61 percent reported any pain relief.
“When you expect to get something on discount, and you expected it to be worse, it can actually be worse. Because people gets the impression that the drugs are of lower quality.
One way of reducing the effect of cost on the perception of efficacy is when patients understand why they are getting the discounts, they added.