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Reiki: Fraudulent Misrepresentation

Posted by Jann Bellamy on June 12, 2014

reiki-hands-pic

The Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic sells reiki treatments (also here) to patients with cancer, fertility issues, Parkinson’s Disease and digestive problems, as well as other diseases and conditions. The Center’s website ad describes reiki as

a form of hands-on, natural healing that uses universal life force energy . . . [a] vital life force energy that flows through all living things. This gentle energy is limitless in abundance and is believed to be a spiritual form of energy. The Reiki practitioner is the conduit between you and the source of the universal life force energy. . . You may experience the energy as sensations such as heat, tingling, or pulsing where the practitioner places her hands on your body, or you may feel these sensations move through your body to other locations. This is the energy flowing into you.

This “universal life force energy” is described as having certain positive effects on one’s own energy, such as “energetically balancing” one physically, replenishing one’s supply of energy, improving distribution of that energy in the body, and dissolving “energy blockages.” It also increases one’s “vibrational frequencies,” although how these frequencies relate to one’s energy, or to anything else for that matter, is not made clear. (more…)

Posted in: Energy Medicine, Health Fraud, Homeopathy, Legal, Medical Ethics

Harkin’s folly, or how forcing insurers to cover CAM undermines the ACA

Posted by Jann Bellamy on May 29, 2014

Bloodletting: a good reason to discard disproven therapies

All of us at SBM have repeatedly expressed frustration at the continuing influx of pseudoscience into the health care system. Judging from comments posted on this site and private communications we receive, our readers share this frustration but are at a loss to figure out how to get through to legislators and other policy makers. Unlike naturopaths and chiropractors, we don’t have the money to hire professional lobbyists. Fortunately, an opportunity to sound off against SCAMs has presented itself, completely free of charge.

How?

Now that the Affordable Care Act enrollment debacle is dying down, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is turning its attention to divining just what the heck Section 2706 of the ACA, the non-discrimination provision, means. (Actually there are other federal agencies involved; to simplify things, here we’ll refer to them collectively as “HHS.”) HHS has opened the issue to public comment, but only until June 10. Let’s take a look at why this is important and what you can do about it.

(There are providers other than chiropractors, naturopaths and acupuncturists involved in this fight. For example, you’ll see public comments from nurse anesthetists and nurse practitioners. But I’m not worried about providers who stick to science.) (more…)

Posted in: Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Legal, Naturopathy, Politics and Regulation, Science and Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Vaccines

Legislative Alchemy 2014 (so far)

Posted by Jann Bellamy on May 15, 2014

Legislative Alchemy is the process by which credulous state legislators turn practitioners of pseudoscience into state-licensed health care professionals. In addition to unleashing quackery such as homeopathy, colonic irrigation, moxibustion, reiki, cranial sacral therapy and the detection and correction of subluxations on the public, these practice acts typically give chiropractors, naturopaths and acupuncturists the freedom of being governed by their own regulatory boards, to which the practitioners themselves are appointed. The boards, in turn, write the administrative rules governing practitioners and handle public complaints about their services. In the worst cases, legislatures simply hand out the privilege of practicing medicine to pretty much anyone.

legislative-alchemy-image

State practice acts also establish the education and training standards for practitioners by requiring graduation from their accredited schools. Here the federal government lends a hand, by turning accreditation over to private agencies run by the practitioners themselves. The federal government also supports the schools by giving them taxpayer-funded student loans and research money. (more…)

Posted in: Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Legal, Naturopathy, Politics and Regulation, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Telemedicine: Click and the doctor will see you now

Posted by Jann Bellamy on May 1, 2014

Think you need to see a doctor? How about seeing him (or her) on your computer (or tablet or smart phone) screen instead of in the doctor’s office?

The technology of telemedicine, or telehealth, is here. So far, there is no single definition of what it does, and does not, encompass. For example, in some definitions, one of which we discuss today, it includes only video communication. Other definitions are broader, including fax, telephone, and e-mail. Here, we focus mainly on the direct patient-physician telemedicine encounter, unmediated by the presence of a physician who has actually seen the patient face-to-face. This is unlike, for example, the more common specialist consultation, in which the patient and physician have met face-to-face and the specialist is brought in via technology. A typical example of this is the radiologist who reads x-rays from a remote location. (Sometimes so remote that the radiologist isn’t even in the same country.) There is some evidence, but not much yet, that certain kinds of physician-mediated telemedicine can benefit the patient.

One can think of many ways a patient’s accessing a doctor via computer might improve access to healthcare. This could be a godsend for patients in rural areas who must drive an hour or more to find a doctor’s office. For example, here’s a program from the University of Mississippi Medical Center:

The Diabetes Telehealth Network will [put telemedicine] technology in the hands of the patients themselves in the form of Internet-capable tablets equipped with the Care Innovations™ Guide platform.

The Care Innovations™ Guide platform enables health-care providers to offer a clinically driven, fully integrated remote care management solution for populations with chronic conditions. The project will recruit up to 200 patients in Sunflower County, MS, who will use Care Innovations technology to share health data, such as weight, blood pressure, and glucose levels, daily with clinicians.

(more…)

Posted in: Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Computers & Internet, Herbs & Supplements, Homeopathy, Legal, Medical Ethics, Naturopathy, Pharmaceuticals, Politics and Regulation

When healing turns into killing: religious and philosophical exemptions from parental accountability

Posted by Jann Bellamy on March 13, 2014

Parents have a fundamental right to guide the upbringing of their children protected under the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This includes the choice of medical care for the child. They also have a First Amendment right to the free exercise of their religious beliefs, including the right to care for their children in accordance with the tenets of their religion. In a better world, these rights would be exercised in a manner that is consistent with a reasoned selection of medical care among choices supported by the best available scientific evidence. If, for example, deeply religious parents choose to forego a treatment that had only a minimal chance of extending their child’s life and terrible side effects in favor of palliative care because they believe that their child would be better off in heaven we could all agree that their choice is constitutionally protected.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. Religious believers and those whose “philosophy” favors pseudoscience in child medical care (surveys bloviating about the popularity of CAM to the contrary) are in fact a tiny minority of the American population who influence public policy in a manner that far exceeds their actual numbers. This influence allows these special interest groups to cause needless suffering and death among children and their families. As well, their actions siphon off medical and legal resources that could more properly be directed toward the common good when states and medical institutions are put in the position of having to go to court to protect children from their parents. And, by giving parents false choices between a belief in magic and standard medical care, unnecessary complications are introduced into what are already difficult and heart-wrenching decisions by parents who truly want to act in the best interests of their children. (more…)

Posted in: Cancer, Epidemiology, Legal, Medical Ethics, Politics and Regulation, Religion, Vaccines

The illusions of “right to try” laws

Posted by Jann Bellamy on March 6, 2014

There is nothing like a touching anecdote to spur a politician into action. And those who want to try investigational drugs outside the FDA’s clinical trial process have touching anecdotes in spades. If I, or a loved one, had a terminal cancer, I’d probably be right there with them, telling my story and hoping to get my hands on an investigational drug, no matter how slim the chance for improvement it offered. But a less emotion-driven analysis of so-called “Right to Try” bills currently before several state legislatures reveals some sobering truths about the false promises behind these bills, promises which in some cases appear to be driven more by political ideology than genuine concern for patients.

“Right to Try” bills are pending before four state legislatures: Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona and Missouri. We’ll get to the details of these in a bit. Legislators in other states have expressed an interest in filing similar bills. On February 26th, a Missouri legislative committee “heard emotional debate from supporters of a bill that would allow makers of investigational drugs, biological products or devices to make them available to eligible terminal patients.” Among those testifying were the parents of a young girl with a brain tumor and the father, a physician, of a patient with metastatic colon cancer. These stories are hard to hear and make it hard to say no.

The Right to Try bill has been christened with another catchy name (Warning! Link to credulous media report!) – the Dallas Buyer’s Club bill after the terrific movie which just won Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto Academy Awards for best actor and best supporting actor, and deservedly so. It depicts a macho, homophobic, HIV-infected cowboy (McConaughey) who saves the day battling the evil, bureaucratic FDA and the medical establishment. He skirts the law to bring life-saving drugs to AIDS patients at a time when AIDS was pretty much a death sentence. The plot even includes a delicensed American doctor who supplies the unapproved drugs from his Mexican clinic. And dietary supplements, of course. (You’d be tempted to suspect Stanislaw Burzynski, Hulda Clark and a naturopath co-authored the script.) But no matter its merits as a movie, it is just that, a movie. It is based on a true story but its interpretation of events has been called into question. (Orac also deconstructs the factual inaccuracies on Respectful Insolence today.) Nevertheless, it is a public relations boon to the Right to Try promoters, although, considering their decidedly right-leaning political inclinations, there has to be a certain amount of squeamishness in associating their cause with a movie featuring raunchy, sexually-explicit scenes, lots and lots of cussing, and a colorfully dressed trans-gender person (Leto) as its most sympathetic character. (more…)

Posted in: Cancer, Clinical Trials, Legal, Politics and Regulation, Science and Medicine

A cure for chiropractic

Posted by Jann Bellamy on February 20, 2014

Almost 10 years ago, a thoughtful article, entitled “Chiropractic as spine care: a model for the profession”, appeared in the journal Chiropractic & Osteopathy. The authors were a group of both academic and practicing chiropractors, as well as representatives from a health insurer specializing in coverage of CAM provider services. Another article, under different authorship, appeared the same year deploring some aspects of chiropractic education. In 2008, a third article came out with a similar theme, “How can chiropractic become a respected mainstream profession? The example of podiatry.” All three are open access and worth reading. The authors are to be commended for taking on an extremely contentious subject in their own profession.

The first article is a refreshingly honest look at the current state of chiropractic. The authors note the inability of chiropractors to consistently define who they are and what they do, which results in public confusion (including among those in the healthcare industry) about just what role chiropractors should play in the healthcare system. The authors deplore the continued existence of the “subluxation” in chiropractic and it’s accommodation by no less than the Association of Chiropractic Colleges. And they thoroughly deconstruct any notion that such a thing exists. The idea that chiropractors are capable of acting as primary care physicians is given equally short shrift and debunked as well.

The article points out that, whatever the confusion among chiropractors about who they are and what they do, the public has decided on its own: the public perception of chiropractors is that of back pain specialists. Back-related problems account for over 90% of the reason patients see chiropractors. They also argue that chiropractic must embrace evidence-based healthcare and stop relying on their clinical experience, noting the many reasons (e.g., regression to the mean) that a chiropractor’s observations may be explained by something other than treatment effectiveness. They admit that the chiropractor’s stock-in-trade, spinal manipulation, might not hold up under an evidence-based standard. (A possibility that is becoming a reality.) They even quote Marcia Angel’s observation on “alternative” medicine:

There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work.

(more…)

Posted in: Chiropractic, Legal, Politics and Regulation

Twenty days in primary care practice, or “naturopathic residency”

Posted by Jann Bellamy on February 6, 2014

The metastasis of alternative medicine throughout the health care system comes, in no small part, at the hands of the federal and state governments, mostly the latter and most particularly the state legislatures. Under their jurisdiction rests the decision of who can, and cannot, become a licensed health care practitioner, and what they can, and cannot, do. This is the gateway through which much of pseudo-medicine flows.

I’ve read many CAM practitioner licensing statutes (all of the chiropractic practice acts, in fact) and many legislative proposals to license or to expand the scope of practice. Typical of the boilerplate recited in support of this legislation is the education and training of these practitioners, which is touted as a means of protecting the public from charlatans and quacks out there selling snake oil to the credulous. Naturopathic licensing bills routinely require graduation from a naturopathic “medical” school accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education. (See, for example, Michigan House Bill 4152, which both David Gorski and I have discussed on SBM.) Unfortunately, what CAM provider legislation often does is simply provide legal cover for selling that very same snake oil.

Naturopaths are licensed in 17 states so far, although what they can and can’t do varies considerably. In some states, they have a scope of practice similar to that of an M.D. or D.O. primary care physician. At the most liberal end of this spectrum, N.D.s can prescribe drugs (as Michigan’s bill would allow), although this, too, varies depending on what’s listed on the state’s naturopathic formulary.

All of this has led me to conclude that the state legislatures do not have internet connections. Because, if they did, it would be pretty easy to Google around and figure out just what this naturopathic “medical” education entails and how practicing naturopaths apply their education and training in actual practice. In fact, I’ve done this myself and reported the results here on SBM. In the last day or so, I found out even more by looking around the websites of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, the American Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Schools, and its member institutions. We’ll get to the fruits of that research in a minute. (more…)

Posted in: Herbs & Supplements, Homeopathy, Legal, Naturopathy, Pharmaceuticals, Politics and Regulation

2013 Legislative Review: placenta take out

Posted by Jann Bellamy on January 9, 2014

It’s official in Oregon now. You can take your placenta, along with your new baby, home from the hospital. This was already a practice among the CAM set but apparently new mothers were running afoul of laws designed to protect us from bio-hazards. New legislation exempts “the removal from a health care facility . . . of a placenta by a postpartum mother.”

Now, why would anyone want a placenta? Well, SBM is nothing if not your complete source of all things CAM and Harriet Hall has already covered the subject. The short answer is that in Traditional Chinese Medicine placenta-eating is thought to confer all sorts of health benefits on the new mother. I learned of this new law from USA Today, which explains that “some experts say” it has positive health benefits. Well, thank goodness for that. Wouldn’t want a new law passed without “experts” weighing in.

But if handling a placenta makes you squeamish, not to worry. The Placenta Power Wellness Service in Portland (among others) will steam, dehydrate and encapsulate it into a handy pill form for about $150-$250. (Each placenta will make 80-120 capsules, according to the website). If you wish, you can get raw placenta encapsulation instead. Placenta tincture, placenta salve and a print of your placenta (sort of like those newborn footprints) are available for extra. That would be a real conversation starter, sitting there on the mantel.

According to Placenta Power Wellness Service, anecdotal evidence shows women experience an increase in energy, mood enhancement, milk supply and feelings of elation. Plus, it’s been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine “for centuries.”

And folks, that is all you need to get a statute passed adding practices or products to the legally-available health care armamentarium: anecdotes, sometimes relayed by “experts.” Traditional use is icing on the cake. (Or maybe the placenta.) It’s the reason for the DSHEA, the chiropractic, acupuncture and naturopathic practice acts, “health freedom” laws, and getting the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia dumped in toto into federal law, with updates courtesy of the homeopathic industry. “I’ve seen it work!” “It worked for me!” Depending on the method, the evidence for the astounding variety of practices and products legally permitted by these laws generally ranges between none and some, with, I’d wager, most hovering in the “it can’t work” to the “we don’t know if it works” range. Not to mention the evidence of safety, or lack thereof. (more…)

Posted in: Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Legal, Naturopathy, Obstetrics & gynecology, Politics and Regulation

The Exciting Conclusion

Posted by Jann Bellamy on December 26, 2013

On the slim chance that you’ve been perched on the edge of your seat wondering how the New Mexico appellate court ruled on chiropractic prescription privileges, whether the Council on Chiropractic Education got approved for another three years as an accrediting agency, if NCCAM ever came clean about spinal manipulation, and the fate of Brandon Babcock, DC, at the hands of the judicial system, here are your updates.

Prescription privileges for New Mexico chiropractors

A surprisingly titillating tidbit about New Mexico “advanced practice” chiropractors.

As discussed in previous posts, New Mexico “advanced practice” chiropractors succeeded in getting limited prescription rights. The statute specifically says they can:

prescribe, administer and dispense herbal medicines, homeopathic medicines, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, glandular products, protomorphogens, live cell products, gerovital, amino acids, dietary supplements, foods for special dietary use, bioidentical hormones, sterile water, sterile saline, sarapin or its generic, caffeine, procaine, oxygen, epinephrine and vapocoolants.

However,

Dangerous drugs or controlled substances, drugs for administration by injection and substances not listed [above] shall be submitted to the board of pharmacy and the New Mexico medical board for approval.

Apparently, the Chiropractic board couldn’t read the plain language of the statute and blew off this requirement, even though their own lawyer told them they couldn’t. This got them hauled into court by the medical and pharmacy boards. The International Chiropractors Association joined the fight. (more…)

Posted in: Chiropractic, Health Fraud, Legal, Politics and Regulation