This week, eminent young rising star oncologist Dr. Vinay Prasad once again expressed his disdain for skeptics. To borrow Dr. Prasad’s own metaphor, Orac shows how the esteemed oncologist’s renewed attack on medical skeptics is like dunking on a 7′ hoop. Unfortunately, it needs to be done, and Orac does it, refuting a truly ignorant and misguided attack.
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“Quackademic medicine” is a term coined to describe the increasing infiltration of pseudoscience and quackery into medical academia. Unsurprisingly, we’re starting to see quackademic medicine turn its attention to COVID-19. In this case, traditional Chinese medicine is invoked to claim that magic amulets might prevent COVID-19,
A newly published systematic review of systematic reviews tells us what we’ve known. Acupuncture doesn’t work for chronic pain.
“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 pain” is at the gates. The quackery will leap out as soon as it’s in the fortress.
The Oregon Health Authority is on the verge of passing a radical policy that would require chronic pain patients receiving Medicaid to have their opioids tapered to zero while covering “nonpharmacologic treatments for pain” that include primarily acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, and other “alternative” treatments. Not surprisingly, the Oregon Chronic Pain Task Force, which is responsible for this proposed infliction of quackery on the most vulnerable, has three acupuncturists and a chiropractor sitting on it.