“America’s Doctor” Dr Oz fights back against critics
BMJ 2015; 350 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h2283 (Published 28 April 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:h2283- Michael McCarthy
Mehmet
Oz, the popular television doctor known as Dr Oz and who has been
dubbed “America’s Doctor” by the television personality Oprah Winfrey,
has said that he will not be silenced by critics who have alleged that
he misleads the public, promoting miracle cures of no proven value.
Last week in an opinion article in Time magazine,1
and later on his television show, Oz defended his promotion of
practices that are often considered outside mainstream medical practice:
“I have spent my entire career searching for ways to lessen the
suffering of my patients. The best and safest paths have generally been
the traditions of conventional medicine. They are tried and true, well
funded, and fast. But there are other routes to healing that offer
wisdom as well, so I have been willing to explore alternative routes to
healing and share any wisdom that can be gathered.”1
The
defense was prompted by a letter from a group of 10 physicians sent to
Lee Goldman, dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine at
Columbia University in New York City, expressing dismay that Oz was
allowed to remain on the university’s faculty. The letter charged that
Oz had “repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based
medicine” and had promoted “quack treatments and cures in the interest
of personal gain.”
In his defense Oz implied that the
letter’s signatories wanted to silence him for his support of consumer
labeling of genetically modified foods, noting that five of the 10
signatories were associated with the American Council on Science and
Health, an industry funded group that opposes compulsory labeling of
genetically modified foods. “I know I’ve irritated some potential allies
in our quest to make America healthy. No matter our disagreements,
freedom of speech is the most fundamental right we have as Americans.
And these 10 doctors are trying to silence that right,” Oz said.
On
his show, Oz, who is a cardiothoracic surgeon and vice chair of
Columbia University’s Department of Surgery, often features “miracle”
fat burning supplements, unproven cancer preventives, and alternative
medicine practitioners, including psychics.
An analysis of medical television talk shows published in The BMJ last December concluded that only 46% of the recommendations made on The Dr Oz Show
were supported by evidence, that no support could be found for 39%, and
that the evidence contradicted 15% of the show’s recommendations.2
The article drew several rapid responses criticizing it. Replying in The BMJ
to the critics, one of the article’s coauthors, Christina Korownyk,
associate professor of family medicine at the University of Alberta’s
department of family medicine, defended its conclusions, writing,
“Despite the authors of the letter’s assertions of their expertise and
their many comments on our study, we feel they have failed to raise any
valid concerns that we did not outline in the original article.
“Given
all the above and at least one of the authors of the letter’s
undisclosed affiliation with the aforementioned medical talk show, one
may wonder if their recommendation for manuscript withdrawal may stem
from something other than the methodological quality of our study.”3
Notes
Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:h2283
