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August 23, 2018

Peter Fisher’s Shocking Death: USA Implications as Homeopathy Loses Perch in the UK

The scientific merits of homeopathy are hotly debated. Protagonists can lean toward other kinds of evidence to make their case for homeopathy’s value. One hears that the Queen of England’s physician is a homeopath. Another kind of value-by-association evidence, from the same part of the world, is offered to anchor this glamorous positioning: homeopathy is a covered service in the UK’s less expensive government-funded system.
August 22, 2018

Practice Drift: Osher Team Explores Risks of MDs Exceeding Scope in Integrative Practices

The movement from the wild-west of “alternative” medical practices into mainstream respect and inclusion is typically a process of standard-setting, self-regulation, and then governmental action. Two principals in the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Medicine recently asked whether – with the chaotic and rapid expansion of the field — its time for integrative medical doctors, in particular, to consider additional, proactive steps.
August 15, 2018

An E-Dialogue with Yale Researchers Who Say “Complementary Medicine” Hastens Death

Multiple integrative oncologists question whether JAMA Oncology did the public a huge disservice in publishing the controversial data-mining, population-based research led by Skyler Johnson, MD  and James Yu, MD, MHS. The study concluded that use of complementary therapies leads to shorter life spans.  The New York Times was among the major media that posted the scare.
August 13, 2018

Interview: SIO President Lynda Balneaves on the JAMA Oncology Paper Linking Complementary Care with Early Death

A conventional oncology clinician or a typical patient deciding whether to step out of the box and try a “complementary” treatment got a strong message from multiple major media outlets the past three weeks. A New York Times subheading was representative: “People who used herbs, acupuncture and other complementary treatments tended to die earlier than those who didn’t.”