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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

A little quackademic medicine in Texas

Calling all Texas skeptics! Well, at least Texas skeptics who can find their way to Galveston on March 29. The reason? Well, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is hosting the Nicholson Round-table Integrative Lecture Series: “Complementary and integrative medicine in cancer care — What does the evidence show?” will be presented by […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

Integrative oncology: Where “individualization” really means “making it up as you go along”

As a cancer surgeon, one aspect of the infiltration of quackademic medicine into academic medical centers that bothers me more than most others is how willingly academia has been to “integrate” quackery with science-based oncology to form the bastard stepchild known as “integrative oncology” that has metastasized to numerous cancer centers that should know better. […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Entertainment/culture Humor Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Television

An emergency room in 2030

I’ve frequently lamented what might happen if the current trend towards quackademic medicine continues unabated, and quackery is fully “integrated” with science-based medicine. First, there was homeopathic e.r. Then, Mitchell and Webb brought us the British version, namely Homeopathic A&E. What I didn’t realize is that predating both of these was…Holistic E.R. (Embedding disabled, unfortunately.) […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

University of Maryland School of Medicine = Hogwarts?

Steve Salzberg is a man after my own heart. You’ll see why in a minute. I’ve frequently written about the pseudoscientific nonsense that goes on at the University of Maryland. Indeed, the University of Maryland School of Medicine is a hotbed of quackademic medicine, including the use of reiki at its world-renowned trauma center along […]

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Science

Dr. Andrew Weil versus evidence-based medicine

Let’s face it, Dr. Andrew Weil is a rock star in the “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) and “integrative medicine” (IM) movement. He is one of its founders, at least a founder of the its most modern iteration, and I am hard-pressed to think of anyone who did more in the early days of the […]