Why Red capsules can cure you faster than Blue pills

Human psychology makes most patients believe that red medication works quicker and that capsules are more effective

Few doctors doubt the incredible power and reach of belief in medicine. They’ve observed it too often with the placebo effect, they said.

Now, a surprising piece of research in the journal, Nature Human Behaviour, has taken that idea one step further. The researchers claim that subtle facial cues and body language signals can show if a doctor truly believes in a course of treatment they are prescribing.

This is picked up on by patients and will influence how effective the treatment is likely to be.

Dr Max Pemberton wrote in The Daily Mail that he thinks “most doctors know this already and instinctively employ a bit of wellmeaning salesmanship to exploit it. It’s not conning the patient — it’s making use of psychology to ensure that they get the best from the medications that are prescribed.”

If a doctor writes a prescription with a shrug and mutters that it’s an old drug, it has many side-effects and is possibly not very effective, the chances are the patient won’t do well on it.

If the doctor smiles, says they have every faith a treatment will work and that the majority of patients improve on it, there’s every chance the patient will have a positive experience.

“I stumbled across this ‘tactic’ some time ago. I found that if you can reassure a patient that you’re treating them as you would a family member, this fosters trust and a good therapeutic relationship.

“We know that a wide variety of factors aside from the pharmacological effects are responsible for how effective a medication is, especially the colour of the tablet and the size.

“Studies show that green tablets are more effective in treating anxiety, but yellow tablets seem to work better in depression, while the colour red suggests to patients that the drug works quickly.

“Meanwhile, capsules are more effective than tablets — not for any pharmaceutical reason, but simply because we believe they will act quicker and so they do.

“Cost can also be a factor. In one US study, patients were given mild electric shocks and told to take a painkiller. Half were given a tablet they were told cost $2.50, while the other half were given one costing 10 cents. They were, in fact, identical tablets.

“Yet 85 per cent of the $2.50 group reported a reduction in pain, while only 60 per cent did in the cheap tablet group. I use this finding in clinical practice.

“If I prescribe an expensive drug, I tell the patient how much it costs. They tend to take it regularly and not skip doses, because they see it as something special.

“Likewise, if they don’t do well on it, they tend to tell me quickly because they don’t want to waste NHS money.

“In short, we doctors shouldn’t be afraid of using our knowledge of psychology as well as pharmacology when we reach for the prescription pad.

“Social prescribing’ encourages a holistic approach to treatment so a patient’s mental and physical problems are seen in the context of social factors.

“We know, for example, that loneliness and isolation contribute to illnesses ranging from depression to heart disease.

“So it is good news that the NHS is investing £5 million in the National Academy for Social Prescribing, which means GPs can refer patients for therapies such as singing, fitness or gardening classes.”

- MailOnline