Category: Politics and Regulation
Legislative Alchemy 2017: Chiropractic
Chiropractors are promoting themselves as primary care physicians. Some state legislatures are falling for it.
Indian Doctors Fight Against Quackery
To address a doctor shortage, Indian health minister JP Nadda is proposing licensing practitioners of ayurveda and homeopathy. This would be a terrible mistake.
Legislative Alchemy 2017: Naturopathy
Via the magic of Legislative Alchemy, naturopathic "doctors" gained state licensure and practice expansion, but also suffered major defeats, in 2017.
The seven dirty words the CDC won’t be able to say any more (in budget requests)
On Saturday, The Washington Post broke a story that Trump administration will prohibit officials at the CDC from using a list of seven words or phrases — including "transgender," “evidence-based,” and “science-based” — in official documents being prepared for next year’s budget. As much as we like the title of our blog, this is not the sort of recognition we at SBM...
Update on neglect cases
An update on two Canadian cases where reliance on alternative medicine resulted in the death of two children.
Damn the evidence and regulations: VA goes full speed ahead with medical pseudoscience
The VA recently mandated inclusion of acupuncture, reiki, reflexology and other CAM in veterans medical benefits and will require that they be offered at VA medical facilities, ignoring the lack of evidence and federal rules on what medical benefits can be covered.
Liver cancer, naturally
Aristolochic acid, a highly toxic substance naturally found in some traditional herbal medicines, may be a significant cause of liver cancer.
Australia ends insurance subsidies for naturopathy, homeopathy, and more
The Australian government has eliminated the insurance subsidy for 17 alternative health practices due to a lack of evidence for efficacy. This is a win for medicine and Australian taxpayers.
Chiropractor Disregards the Loss of His License, Continues to Treat Patients with Cervical Dysplasia with Escharotics
A chiropractor who bills himself as a chiropractic gynecologist has continued to practice after his license was permanently revoked. Among his many questionable practices, Nick LeRoy is treating cervical dysplasia with escharotics, a potentially dangerous replacement for conventional treatments to prevent cancer.
Repealing Legislative Alchemy
We need to repeal federal and state laws that allow quackery and pseudoscience in healthcare.