Category Archives: Law, Regulation, and Politics

CAM and Advance Healthcare Directives

Disclaimer: This topic strays outside my area of professional expertise, so I offer these personal musings as food for thought, not in any way as official recommendations in my role as a veterinarian. It has become quite common these days … Continue reading

Posted in Law, Regulation, and Politics | 3 Comments

Holistic Vet Asks, “IF CAM doesn’t work, why is it allowed?”

A certain “holistic” veterinarian about whom I’ve written before (here, here, here, and—well, you get the idea) has asked a couple of good questions on his own blog, though not surprisingly I don’t find his answers at all convincing. I’m … Continue reading

Posted in General, Law, Regulation, and Politics | 7 Comments

GAO Report on Deceptive Marketing and Contamination of Herbal Products

The GAO today released a report to Congress that had previously been reported on in the New York Times. The report investigated deceptive or illegal marketing practices among sellers of herbal remedies and dietary supplements. Under the Dietary Supplement Health … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements, Law, Regulation, and Politics | 2 Comments

Simon Singh Wins a Victory in BCA Libel Suit

As many of you may know, there is a libel cases in Britain that has been followed very closely by those of us supportive of evidence-based medicine, that of Simon Singh versus the British Chiropractic Association (BCA). Dr. Singh is … Continue reading

Posted in Chiropractic, Law, Regulation, and Politics | 5 Comments

More Hypocritical Nonsense about “Healthcare Choice”

Readers of this blog will be familiar with Dr. Shawn Messonier and his style of promoting alternative veterinary medicine by lying about scientific medicine and veterinarians who practice it (e.g. Here, Here, and Here). The latest example of this behavior … Continue reading

Posted in General, Law, Regulation, and Politics | 14 Comments

Big CAM and Getting Bigger

I’ve pointed out before that despite the David and Goliath myth CAM proponents often market, that CAM is big business. A study in July, 2009 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)  reaffirms this. With all the … Continue reading

Posted in General, Law, Regulation, and Politics | 2 Comments

Short and Sour–Politics & Fear Trump Evidence

Much virtual ink has been spilled over the United Stated Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast cancer screening recommendations. Though I’ve written in general terms about the generally underappreciated complexity of screening tests and whether they are the unadulterated good … Continue reading

Posted in Law, Regulation, and Politics | 1 Comment

No CAM Degrees in Israel

I stumbled across an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaraetz indicating that Council for Higher Education, the national accrediting body for higher education, has declined to permit complementary and alternative medicine programs to offer academic degrees. According to the article: … Continue reading

Posted in Law, Regulation, and Politics | Leave a comment

Protest Government Protection of Unproven and Ineffective Medicine

The Center for Inquiry, a pro-science and secularism think tank and lobby,  which previously issued a white paper about the attempts of Tom Harkin and others to insert protection for non evidence-based CAM in healthcare reform legislation, has continued to … Continue reading

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From SBM — Updated on CAM Protection in Health Care Reform

Science-Based Medicine has posted a look at some of the language that has survived into current Senate and House versions of health care reform legislation. The woo protection elements are alive and well. Here are some examples:  “insurance coverage shall … Continue reading

Posted in Law, Regulation, and Politics | 4 Comments