Dr Oz Critics Spur AMA to Corral 'Media' Doctors

[SidDithers]

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/847129

In what might be called a thinly veiled rebuke of Mehmet Oz, MD, the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA) earlier this month adopted two resolutions that seek to hold physicians accountable for the advice they dispense through mass media.

One resolution, sponsored by medical students along with residents and fellows at the AMA's annual meeting in Chicago, called on the association to issue a report on the professional obligations of such physicians and how wayward ones might be disciplined by regulatory bodies. The resolution also directs the AMA to go on the record denouncing the spread of dubious information and affirming the need for physicians in the media to adhere to evidence-based medicine.

A second resolution sponsored just by the residents and fellows section of the House of Delegates encourages physicians who make public statements about health and science to disclose whether their positions "are based on published peer reviewed evidence, standard of care, or personal opinion."

The two resolutions did not mention Dr Oz or his television show, but deliberations leading up to the votes did, owing to the "whereas" preambles that accompanied each measure. The whereas section of the joint resolution from the medical students and residents originally called out The Dr. Oz Show for dispensing mostly unproven advice and generally not disclosing potential conflicts of interest. However, these references to Dr Oz and his program were removed before the House of Delegates voted, according to a medical school delegate in attendance.

The whereas section of the other resolution noted that the Senate held hearings last year on "false treatment ads by the popular TV show The Dr. Oz Show." This point made it to the conference floor intact, although delegates adopted only the resolution per se. According to the AMA, the whereas section of a resolution isn't part of the vote because it reflects merely the sponsor's opinions.

Much of this was brought about by med student Benjamin Mazer. I posted about his efforts earlier this year:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026559754


Maybe now, America's Quack Mehmet Oz will need to sell science, instead of woo.

Sid

[Dr Hobbitstein]

1. K&R

Even if it's obvious the Koch Bros and Monsanto are funding the AMA in order to smear the good liberal Dr. Oz.

[Orrex]

2. K&R

This is a good step, long overdue.

Dr. Oz is vile and should be held accountable for his bullshit.

[Android3.14]

3. Damn right

The AMA should respond to these quacks.

[tammywammy]

4. k&r!

Dr. Oz and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Dr. Oz has profiled so many dubious health strategies that “The Dr. Oz Effect” more accurately refers to the wasted time, effort and finances of any consumer that actually follows his health advice and purchases the steady stream of “miracles” that Oz endorses on his television show. Not surprisingly, Science-Based Medicine is probably Oz’s most persistent and tenacious critic. It’s not just that he’s high profile – it’s that Dr. Oz is a bona fide physician who ought to know better, but chooses to ignore science in favour of hyperbole. It’s the antithesis of what a health professional should be doing. And this is the root of the Oz problem: Oz can give good advice, but he regularly combines it with questionable statements and pseudoscience in a way that the casual viewer can’t distinguish between the science and the fiction. So when Oz calls something a miracle – people listen. Even when miracles show up several times per year.

When it was announced that Dr. Oz had been invited to speak by Senate Commerce subcommittee Chairwoman Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) about weight loss scams, at least one irony meter exploded. A protégé of Oprah, his spin-off television show started in 2007 quickly became a platform for hosting other dubious “experts”, offering questionable health advice, and repeatedly profiling today’s versions of snake oil. So asking Oz to speak about weight-loss scams seemed absurd, given he’s possibly the most influential promoter of weight loss scams in America. A friend of the blog suggested that a better use of Dr. Oz would have been to hold him up as an example of the very problem he’d been asked to speak about.

Well that’s exactly what happened. On Tuesday Dr. Oz admitted that when it comes to weight loss products, hype trumps the evidence, every time. I strongly suspect that Senator McCaskill or her advisors have been reading Science-Based Medicine, as her extended evisceration of Oz (and a reference to, yes, “science-based medicine”) is a true delight to watch:

Much more at link https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/dr-oz-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day/

[tammywammy]

5. .

[SidDithers]

6. Thanks for the kick...

Sid

[zappaman]

7. Why are you smearing this "good liberal doctor"!?

Also Michele Obama.