What would you do if you found out that your physician was prescribing placebos for your acute medical condition? That's far from a rhetorical question:
My first question is: who's paying for them? If the carrier's being billed, wouldn't the EOB (Explanation of Benefits) give away the game? And if it's not being submitted, then the patient's paying out of pocket for the fake; but are they being charged for the "real McCoy?"
And if this is supposed to be for treatment, how's it being coded? Again, wouldn't the EOB give some indication of what was going on?
And if the treatment consists of a series of placebos (or even some placebos and some med's), how is the provider being reimbursed? Aren't there some ethical considerations in what's being charged for what is essentially a phony treatment? Or has "First, do no harm" devolved into "Don't ask, don't tell?"
[Hat Tip: Holly Robinson]
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