Category: Politics and Regulation
Chiropractic Internist: A “specialty” to avoid
The "chiropractic internist" is the creation of an industry association which promotes chiropractors as "primary care physicians." After 300 hours of instruction in a hotel conference room, they claim they can treat "anything that a medical doctor can."
In the tradition of Chairman Mao, traditional Chinese medicine gets a new boost by the Chinese government
Despite a lack of evidence for its efficacy and safety, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has made major inroads into US medical centers, both academic and community. I've told the story of how Chairman Mao Zedong created the myth of TCM and promoted it to credulous Westerners to facilitate the "integration" of TCM and "Western medicine." Over the holiday break, I learned that...
Fake treatments for real diseases: A review of allergy and asthma advertisements by naturopaths, chiropractors, homeopaths and acupuncturists
A majority of Canadian chiropractic, naturopathic, homeopathic and acupuncture clinics claim that they can diagnose or treat allergies, sensitivities and asthma.
Florida revokes medical license of “Lyme literate” doctor
Florida finally revoked the medical license of “Lyme literate” doctor John Lentz, who honed his diagnostic skills and treatments in ILADS seminars and treated “chronic Lyme” for almost a decade. Why does the system allow this?
State Medical Boards should not recognize board certification in “Integrative Medicine”
Integrative medicine is not a real specialty in medicine. Let's not treat it as though it were.
FTC Homeopathy Win
I love to see a regulatory agency actually do its job. Especially within medicine, where it is most important, the lack of political will seems to get in the way of properly regulating health care products and services in the way that most consumers assume they are regulated. Homeopathy is perhaps the best example. Homeopathy is pure unadulterated pseudoscience and witchcraft. There...
Medical science policy in the U.S. under Donald Trump
The election of Donald Trump was unexpected. Given Trump's history of antivaccine beliefs and conspiracy theories, coupled with a fervor for deregulation (a fervor shared by the Republican Congress), it is reasonable to fear what will happen to medical science policy during the next four years.
“Donald Trump’s presidential election win stuns scientists”
Scientists in the U.S. and from around the world are weighing in on Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the most powerful country on earth: Trump will be the first anti-science president we have ever had . . . The consequences are going to be very, very severe. Michael Lubell, director of public affairs for the American Physical Society in...
Cancer quackery from Germany to Australia
Sadly, cancer quackery is a worldwide phenomenon. Here, we examine its reach from Germany to Australia.
California legislature should repeal naturopathic licensing
On January 1, 2018, the California Naturopathic Doctors Act will be automatically repealed unless the California Legislature deletes or extends that date during the 2017 legislative session, which convenes on December 5, 2016. In addition, according to California law, the Naturopathic Medicine Committee of the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, which regulates naturopathic doctors (NDs), is subject to review by “appropriate policy...