Managing the Therapeutic Illusion in Medicine

Decades of psychology experiments have shown that we tend to overestimate our influence over events. In medicine, this illusion of control is a "therapeutic illusion," which can lead health care providers to recommend burdensome therapies, and to pursue aggressive treatment beyond the point at which it offers meaningful benefit.

David Casarett, MD, MA is a palliative care physician and health services researcher whose work focuses on improving systems of care for people with serious, life-threatening illnesses. He is the author of more than 100 articles in journals including JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine, as well as three non-fiction books, and his writing has appeared in print and online in Salon, Esquire, Discover, Newsweek, the New York Times, and Wired. He is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the US government to researchers in the early stages of their careers.

The Topics in Medical Ethics Lecture Series is jointly sponsored by the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine and Duke University Hospital.