Alternative medicine practitioners have had a lot of success marketing their methods to the mainstream veterinary profession by obscuring or downplaying the most egregiously unscientific and ridiculous of their beliefs and practices when speaking outside of their own groups. They will often claim an acceptance of scientific evidence, though not to the extent that it overrides their personal experiences or anecdotes. And they will employ the term “integrative medicine” to suggest that they consider all therapies, conventional or alternative, equally and fairly before selecting the right method for each patient. The outwardly reasonable marketing of such integrative medicine can be very effective at convincing reasonable, mostly science-based animal owners and veterinarians to take seriously methods that, when understood fully, are deeply unreasonable and incompatible with science.
However, when speaking amongst themselves, such practitioners often feel free to reveal how they really feel about science and conventional medicine and to speak more honestly about the ideas and beliefs underlying the alternative methods they integrate with scientific medicine. One of the regular functions of this blog is to put such more thorough and honest comments on display so that people considering integrative alternative medicine into their veterinary practice or their care of their own pets can have a fully informed understanding of what they are being offered.
Having collected quite a bit of such material, I have created a new thematic post to collect all of it, which you can find here.
Science Through the Looking Glass- The Integrative Veterinary Care Journal
The University of Florida’s Integrative Medicine Service: Good Science or a CAM Trojan Horse?
UT Integrative Veterinary Medicine Fellowship: A Case Study in Alternative Medicine Propaganda
Integrative Medicine or Bait-and Switch?
Integrative Veterinary Cancer Care: Are Claims without Evidence Dishonest?
Dr. Nancy Scanlan Shows us How to Talk Sciency Without Actually Accepting Science
What Do Holistic Vets Say About Science and Evidence-based Medicine?
The Dangerous Allure of Alternative Therapies for Pets with Cancer
Dr. Barbara Royal Reminds us that the AHVMF Opposes Science-Based Medicine
The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation: Science or Salesmanship?
Holistic Veterinary Medicine: A Variety of Faith Healing
CAM Vets Attacking Conventional Veterinary Medicine
The Marketing of Veterinary Homeopathy
What “Experts” in Homeopathy are Supposed to Believe
The Problem of Negative and Inaccurate Advertising of Alternative Veterinary Medicine
Integrating Myths and Nonsense with Standard Advice for Allergic Pets
The Latest Integrative Nonsense from the Integrative Veterinary Care Journal- Spring 2017 Issue
