“Integrative” oncology: Trojan horse, quackademic medicine, or both?
One of the main topics that we’ve covered here on this blog over the last couple of years is the relatively rapid, seemingly relentless infiltration of pseudoscience into what should be bastions of science-based medicine (SBM), namely medical schools and academic medical centers promoted by academics who should, but apparently don’t, know better. From the very beginning, we’ve written numerous posts about...
Germ theory denial: A major strain in “alt-med” thought
As hard as it is for most physicians today to believe it, germ theory denial is a major strain of belief underlying disturbingly large swaths of alternative medicine, as well as antivaccine beliefs. Yes, infectious disease is more complex than the simplistic version of germ theory understood by the public, but the complexities do not invalidate germ theory.
Credulity about acupuncture infiltrates the New England Journal of Medicine
One of the things that disturbs me the most about where medicine is going is the infiltration of quackery into academic medicine. So prevalent is this unfortunate phenomenon that Doctor RW even coined a truly apt term for it: Quackademic medicine. In essence, pseudoscientific and even prescientific ideas are rapidly being “integrated” with science-based medicine, or, as I tend to view it,...
“Hard science” and medical school
One of the recurring themes of this blog, not surprisingly given its name, is the proper role of science in medicine. As Dr. Novella has made clear from the very beginning, we advocate science-based medicine (SBM), which is what evidence-based medicine (EBM) should be. SBM tries to overcome the shortcomings of EBM by taking into account all the evidence, both scientific and...
NCCAM Director Dr. Josephine Briggs and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
On Friday, one of my partners in crime here at Science-Based Medicine, Dr. Kimball Atwood, wrote an excellent Open Letter to Dr. Josephine Briggs. Dr. Briggs, as most regular readers of SBM know, is the Director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). As most regular readers of SBM also know, we at SBM have been quite critical of...
The Texas Medical Board acts in the case of the Winkler County whistle blowing nurses
I can’t speak for anyone else who blogs here at Science-Based Medicine, but there’s one thing I like to emphasize to people who complain that we exist only to “bash ‘alternative’ medicine.” We don’t. We exist to champion medicine based on science against all manner of dubious practices. Part of that mandate involves understanding and accepting that science-based medicine is not perfect....
Dr. Donald Berwick and “patient-centered” medicine: Letting the woo into the new health care law?
There’s been a bit of buzz in the health blogs over President Obama’s decision last week to use the mechanism of a recess appointment to be the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Recess appointments, for those who may not be aware, allow a President to put a nominee in place when Congress is in recess in order...
Homeopathy in the ICU?
Editor’s note: It’s still a holiday weekend in the United States. I had considered simply taking the day off altogether, particularly since I’m busily working on my talk for TAM8–which (holy crap!) is in a mere three days–but then I figured today’s a good time to resurrect a “classic” (if you will) post that I wrote a few years ago, dust it...
The price of opposing medical pseudoscience
When quacks can’t answer with science (which is most commonly), they fall back on their favorite ad hominem attack. They call their critics “pharma shills.” Then they try to silence them by almost any means they view as necessary. Those means can include attempts to get critics fired by going to their bosses and falsely accusing them of serious misdeeds. Dr. Gorski...
Dedicated to Jake Crosby and Age of Autism…
I'm still standing, better than I've ever been.