"...Dr. Oz is a symptom, not the problem."

Dr. Oz and the Pathology of 'Open-Mindedness'

In the pursuit of scientific discovery, where is the line between alternative therapies and "quackademic" medicine?

• ALAN LEVINOVITZ
 
•  APR 23, 2015

"One need not even look beyond the walls of Oz’s own university. Woodson C. Merrell, an assistant professor at Columbia Medical School and executive director of Mount Sinai Beth Israel’s Center for Health and Healing, lists homeopathy as one of his clinical interests—despite a scientific consensus that homeopathy is inconsistent with some of the basic laws of chemistry and physics.

Indeed, a vocal minority of physicians and scientists have long claimed that Dr. Oz is a symptom, not the problem. Most prominent among them are the Yale neurologist Steven Novella and the Wayne State University surgical oncologistDavid Gorski, who refer to the problem as “quackademic medicine.” For Novella and Gorski, the concern is not merely that people will waste money on homeopathic sugar pills or fruitless miracle diets. They emphasize that Dr. Oz and universities alike endanger public health by legitimating alternative medical traditions such as naturopathy and chiropractic. This, in turn, can lead people to reject standard medical care. Vaccination is a classic case: Though most people are unaware of it, the official position of the American Chiropractic Association supports “providing an alternative elective course of action regarding vaccination.” Similarly, the New York University medical ethicist Arthur Caplan expresses concern that naturopaths—who practice an unstandardized mix of therapies including traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, craniosacral therapy, iridology, and reiki— routinely grant vaccine exemptions, and are licensed to do so in 17 states."