Results for: acupuncture
Legislative Alchemy 2018: Chiropractors rebranding as primary care physicians continues
Chiropractors are not properly educated and trained to be primary care physicians. Yet, their campaign to rebrand themselves as PCPs via legislation continues.
The stem cell hard sell: The Medical Board of California is forming a task force to determine how to regulate physicians offering stem cell therapies.
For-profit stem cell clinics selling unproven and downright quacky stem cell therapies have proliferated over the last several years, with federal and state law seemingly powerless to stop them. Recently, the FDA and FTC have shown signs of acting to crack down on them. Now, the Medical Board of California is forming a task force to determine how to regulate physicians offering...
The White Coat Effect in Animals: Reducing Fear in the Vet Clinic
Fear during veterinary visits is a problem for everyone involved. While everyone wants less of it, there is limited evidence to support any interventions right now.
Be careful what you wish for…
A "naturopathic oncologist" on Twitter challenged me to examine the work of his two "naturopathic oncology" mentors. It did not go well...for him.
Are placebo effects genetically determined?
We frequently write about placebo effects here at SBM because understanding placebo effects is essential to understanding a lot of clinical trial science and, most relevant to the topics of this blog, how those promoting unscientific medicine misunderstand and misuse placebo effects to promote quackery. Last week, The NYT published an article asking if placebo effects are genetically determined. The evidence supporting...
The Integrative Oncology Scholars Program: Indoctrinating the next generation of “integrative oncology” believers
"Integrative oncology" involves "integrating" pseudoscience, mysticism, and quackery with science-based oncology and co-opting science-based lifestyle modalities as "alternative" in order to provide cover for the quackery. Unfortunately, my alma mater, funded by the National Cancer Institute, is running a course to indoctrinate 100 health care professionals in the ways of "integrative oncology." The Trojan horse of "lifestyle interventions" and "nonpharmacologic treatments for...
A right to science
Unless forced to do so, the state and federal governments will continue to base law and policy on bad science. Maybe it's time for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a "right to science."
World Health Organization Endorses Quackery
The World Health Organization fails its primary function by promoting traditional quackery.
Integrative Medicine finally admits it’s attracting bad apples
Integrative medicine proponents finally acknowledge their field is attracting bad apples but fail to identify the real source of their problem: It's rejection of science-based medicine, not lack of training in integrative medicine.
Should Evidence-Based Medicine Be Replaced by Interpersonal Medicine?
An opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine complains about the limitations of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and recommends a new approach they call "interpersonal medicine." In my opinion, good clinical medicine is already interpersonal medicine; there is no need for something new.