The nocebo effect is when a patient has negative expectations regarding a treatment or change in treatment and experiences a negative reaction that is not related to the medication change.
Watch the video below to learn more about the Nocebo Effect and how it can affect biosimilar adoption.
Reducing the Nocebo Effect
We highlight important ways healthcare providers can reduce the nocebo effect.
Physician-Patient Communication
- Physician’s awareness of the nocebo effect
- Patients’ involvement in the decision making process
- Non-verbal communication: Warm and empathic communication
- To focus on positive outcomes (positive message framing), avoiding negative preconceptions
Patient-Profiling
- To identify personality traits more susceptible to nocebo effect (e.g., anxiety, physiological suggestibility)
- To use specific tools to evaluate patients’ expectations and to detect subjects at increased risk of nocebo effect (e.g., Perceived Sensitivity to Medicines and Stanford Expectations of Treatment Scale)
Multidisciplinary Management
- Gastroenterologist: knowledge of the most updated evidence about biosimilars
- Nurse: Link between physicians and patients
- Psychologist: to improve physicians’ communication skills and to allow patients in expliciting their concerns
- Pharmacist: integration of biosimilars in the ambulatory setting
Social Observational Learning
- To use telemedicine system to improve patients’ adherence to treatment
- To involve patients’ associations in patient management to facilitate the use of appropriate information