→Awards and honors: Remove that item - it is not a reference to an award or honor at all |
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In 1999, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' listed Quackwatch in their Best of the Web (one of three medical sites). <ref>[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/991115/archive_002597_7.htm U.S. News & World Report: The Best of The Web Gets Better]</ref> |
In 1999, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' listed Quackwatch in their Best of the Web (one of three medical sites). <ref>[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/991115/archive_002597_7.htm U.S. News & World Report: The Best of The Web Gets Better]</ref> |
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''[[Forbes]]'' magazine, in its web review of 'Health' sites, listed Quackwatch amongst 24 web sites. Quackwatch is listed second from last at the bottom of the list while the 5 sites that are selected "Best of the Web" are listed at the top in the "Health" category, with the top site listed as Forbes Favorite. <ref>[http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/category.jhtml?id=38 Web Sites Reviews - Health]- Forbes "Web Sites Review" list under "Health" category</ref> Forbes notes that the site is: |
''[[Forbes]]'' magazine, in its web review of 'Health' sites, listed Quackwatch amongst 24 web sites. Quackwatch is listed second from last at the bottom of the list while the 5 sites that are selected Forbes "Best of the Web" are listed at the top in the "Health" category, with the top site listed as "Forbes Favorite". <ref>[http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/category.jhtml?id=38 Web Sites Reviews - Health]- Forbes "Web Sites Review" list under "Health" category</ref> Forbes notes that the site is: |
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:''"Mostly attacking alternative medicines, homeopathy and chiropractors, the tone here can be rather harsh. However, the lists of sources of health advice to avoid, including books, specific doctors and organizations, are great for the uninformed. BEST: Frequently updated, but also archives of relevant articles that date back at least four years. WORST: Lists some specific doctors and organizations without explaining the reason for their selection."'' <ref name="forbes">[http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/review.jhtml?id=865 Forbes.com, ''Best of the Web'': Review of Quackwatch.]</ref><ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/Awards/awards.html Quackwatch: Awards and honors]</ref> |
:''"Mostly attacking alternative medicines, homeopathy and chiropractors, the tone here can be rather harsh. However, the lists of sources of health advice to avoid, including books, specific doctors and organizations, are great for the uninformed. BEST: Frequently updated, but also archives of relevant articles that date back at least four years. WORST: Lists some specific doctors and organizations without explaining the reason for their selection."'' <ref name="forbes">[http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/review.jhtml?id=865 Forbes.com, ''Best of the Web'': Review of Quackwatch.]</ref><ref>[http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/Awards/awards.html Quackwatch: Awards and honors]</ref> |
Revision as of 11:13, 7 October 2006
Quackwatch is a website operated by Quackwatch, Inc., an American non-profit organization incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania [1] whose stated purpose is to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, and fallacies" and whose claimed "primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere".[2] Quackwatch is operated by Stephen Barrett, M.D., who founded the non-profit in 1969, with input from his board of advisors, and help from numerous volunteers.[3] The Quackwatch website was started in 1997.[4]
Mission and scope
Quackwatch reports that its activities include the following:[5] Investigating questionable claims; Answering inquiries about products and services; Advising "quackery victims"; Distributing reliable publications; Debunking pseudoscientific claims; Reporting illegal marketing; Assisting or generating consumer-protection lawsuits; Improving the quality of health information on the Internet; and Attacking misleading advertising on the Internet
The website contains essays on a variety of health-related therapies, labeled "quackery" by Quackwatch. The essays are not, and do not claim to be, peer-reviewed scientific papers, but are mainly written by Barrett and his 150+ member board of advisors for the non-specialist reader in a style not unlike Consumer Reports and other general readership publications.[6] Quackwatch sets out to show therapies as quackery by presenting scientific evidence and arguments that support that conclusion. Barrett argues that such therapies could be (and in some cases have been) dangerous. The site contains information about specific people who perform, market, and use dubious therapies, including some cases where they have been convicted of crimes, either for the quackery in question or for other things. The website also presents lists of sources, individuals, and groups which Quackwatch considers questionable and non-recommended,[7][8] including two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling (for his claims about massive doses of Vitamin C)[9] and integrative medicine proponent Andrew Weil, MD. However Forbes writes that " Dr. Weil, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, is one of the most widely known and respected alternative medicine gurus. " [10]
About the site
Quackwatch engages the services of 150+ scientific and technical advisors who author articles and help to "evaluate web sites, answer health-related questions, review books, help prepare articles, and engage in other projects that foster the spread of accurate information on the Internet." [11] As of 2003 the advisors are listed as follows: Medical Advisors (67); Dental Advisors (12); Mental Health Advisors (13); Nutrition and Food Science Advisors (16); Podiatry Advisors (3); Veterinary Advisors (8); and Other Scientific and Technical Advisors (33). [11]
Quackwatch has been involved in reporting on therapeutic touch, [12] Vitamin O, [13] Almon Glenn Braswell, [14][15][16] dietary supplements, especially when sold by doctors, [17] and the Mexican clinic where Coretta Scott King died. [18]
Barrett writes that Quackwatch has no salaried employees and "operates with minimal expense, funded mainly by small individual donations, commissons from sales on other sites to which we refer, sponsored links, and profits from the sale of publications. If its income falls below what is needed for the research, the rest comes out of my pocket." "The total cost of operating Quackwatch's many [22 sites] Web sites is approximately $7,000 per year." [19] The site is part of a network of related sites, such as Homeowatch (on homeopathy), Credential Watch (devoted to exposing degree mills), Chirobase (specifically devoted to chiropractic, cosponsored by the National Council Against Health Fraud and Victims of Chiropractic), and others, each devoted to specific topics. [20]
Awards and honors
In 1998, the Journal of the American Medical Association named Quackwatch one of nine "select sites that provide reliable health information and resources." [21]
In 1999, U.S. News & World Report listed Quackwatch in their Best of the Web (one of three medical sites). [22]
Forbes magazine, in its web review of 'Health' sites, listed Quackwatch amongst 24 web sites. Quackwatch is listed second from last at the bottom of the list while the 5 sites that are selected Forbes "Best of the Web" are listed at the top in the "Health" category, with the top site listed as "Forbes Favorite". [23] Forbes notes that the site is:
- "Mostly attacking alternative medicines, homeopathy and chiropractors, the tone here can be rather harsh. However, the lists of sources of health advice to avoid, including books, specific doctors and organizations, are great for the uninformed. BEST: Frequently updated, but also archives of relevant articles that date back at least four years. WORST: Lists some specific doctors and organizations without explaining the reason for their selection." [24][25]
Criticism
Website Review
A review article entitled "Watching the Watchdogs at Quackwatch" by Joel M. Kauffman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia,[26] was published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE).[27] Kauffman is also the author of Malignant Medical Myths: Why Medical Treatment Causes 200,000 Deaths in the USA each Year and How to Protect Yourself.[28] His article in JSE examined eight Quackwatch articles for factuality, fairness and scientific currency; Kauffman found the articles to be "contaminated with incomplete data, obsolete data, technical errors, unsupported opinions, and/or innuendo" and cited the peer-reviewed literature in support of his conclusions. Kauffman wrote that:
- "Hostility to all alternatives was expected and observed from the website, but not repetition of groundless dogma from mainstream medicine...It remains a mystery how they [Quackwatch] and I have interpreted the same body of medical science and reached such divergent conclusions.....It is very probable that many...vistors to the website have been misled by the trappings of scientific objectivity...At least 3 of the activities in the Mission Statement...have been shown to be flawed as actually executed...Medical practitioners such as Robert Atkins, Elmer Cranton and Stanislaw Burzynski, whom I demonstrated are not quacks, were attacked with the energy one would hope to be focused on real quacks. The use of this website is not recommended. It could be deleterious to your health. "
Other critics
There are several more critics of the Quackwatch website. Many of the critics are also critical of Stephen Barrett, the owner and founder of the website:
- Timothy Patrick ( Tim ) Bolen, webmaster of Quackpot Watch [29], a website that challenges Barrett and some of the views presented on Quackwatch. Barrett has responded to Bolen, saying "Bolen and his wife Jan do business as JuriMed, an entity whose stated purpose is to assist "alternative" health practitioners faced with regulatory action, criminal prosecution, or other matters that threaten their financial well-being and/or license to practice."[30]. However Tim Bolen state on one of his websites: " JuriMed - Public Relations & Research Group's business card says "Strategies for Government Besieged Health Professionals." " Bolen describes himself as "a consumer advocate and the nemesis of the now failing "quackbuster" operation". [31]
- Peter Barry Chowka, journalist and a former adviser to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine, has said that Barrett "seems to be putting down trying to be objective." He went on to state that "Quackwatch.com is consistently provocative and entertaining and occasionally informative,.....But I personally think he's running against the tide of history. But that's his problem, not ours." [32]
- Burton Goldberg, of Alternative Medicine Digest reported, "In the paradox of 'quackbusting,' the quackbusters say they're protecting public health, but in fact, they're abandoning the public to their own suffering to protect the financial interests of conventional medicine, which has no interest in or ability to produce benefits for these conditions. The 'quackbusters' say they're serving the public, but the truth is they're grossly disserving patients."[33] Goldberg refers to Barrett as a "self-proclaimed 'quackbuster'," but Barrett does not like the term "quackbuster" because it can suggest militancy, so he never refers to himself as a quackbuster, describing himself instead as an author, editor, consumer advocate and expert in medical communications.
- Ray Sahelian B.Sc (nutrition), M.D. and Board certified in Family Medicine, is the author of health related books, including Natural Sex Boosters, an expert in nutrition and a proponent of supplements,[34] asks: "Why has Stephen Barrett, M.D. focused most of his attention on the nutritional industry and has hardly spent time pointing out the billions of dollars wasted each year by consumers on certain prescription and non-prescription pharmaceutical drugs?" and " Another point I would like to make regarding quackwatch is that Dr. Barrett often, if not the majority of the time, seems to point out the negative outcome of studies with supplements (you can sense his glee and relish when he points out these negative outcomes), and rarely mentions the benefits they provide." [35]
- Dr. Elmer M. Cranton, author of Textbook on EDTA Chelation Therapy, has responded to criticism of chelation therapy by Quackwatch, stating: " There exist a small number of self-styled medical thought-police who call themselves "quack busters". They even have their own website, QuackWatch. This organization has the mission of attacking alternative and emerging medical therapies in favor of the existing medical monopoly." [36] He further stated :"I will answer below, point by point, a critical article on the Quackwatch website by Dr. Saul Green entitled Chelation Therapy: Unproven Claims and Unsound Theories, [37] in which Dr. Green attempts to discredit EDTA chelation using half-truths, speculation, and false statements." [36]
- Dr. Gerhard N. Schrauzer has responded to a Quackwatch article written by James Pontolillo [38] that criticizes Dr. Joel D. Wallach: "The present account shows that Dr. Wallach's academic record is unassailable, and that his opinions and views are generally well substantiated. If he startles some of his critics this may be because developments in his area of expertise are not generally known or ignored by the largely drug oriented conventional medicine." [39]
References
- ^ Pennsylvania Department of State - Corporations
- ^ Quackwatch - Mission Statement
- ^ Rosen, Marjorie (October 1998). Interview with Stephen Barrett, M.D. Biography Magazine
- ^ Internet Archives copy of original site.
- ^ Activities as per mission statement
- ^ Jaroff, Leon (April 30, 2001). "The Man Who Loves To Bust Quacks" Time Magazine, Apr. 22, 2001
- ^ Barrett SJ. Nonrecommended Sources of Health Advice Quackwatch. Retrieved July 19, 2006.
- ^ Barrett SJ. Questionable Organizations: An Overview. Quackwatch. Retrieved July 19, 2006.
- ^ Barrett SJ (May 5, 2001). The Dark Side of Linus Pauling's Legacy. via Quackwatch. Retrieved July 29, 2006.
- ^ Ask Dr. Weil Forbes Best of The Web Directory
- ^ a b Scientific and technical advisors
- ^ Kolata, Gina (April 1, 1998). A Child's Paper Poses a Medical Challenge. New York Times
- ^ Siwolop, Sana (January 7, 2001). Back Pain? Arthritis? Step Right Up to the Mouse. New York Times
- ^ Eichenwald, Kurt and Michael Moss (February 6, 2001). Pardon for Subject of Inquiry Worries Prosecutors. New York Times
- ^ Associated Press (September 13, 2004). Man Once Pardoned By Clinton Again Faces Prison.
- ^ Another Dubious Pardon - U.S. News & World Report
- ^ Fessenden, Ford with Christoper Drew (March 31, 2000). Bottom Line in Mind, Doctors Sell Ephedra. New York Times
- ^ McKinley, James C Jr. (February 1, 2006). 'Eclectic' Hospital With a Founder Prone to Legal Problems. New York Times
- ^ Who Funds Quackwatch?
- ^ There are 22 web sites affiliated with Quackwatch.
- ^ JAMA Patient Page - Click here: How to find reliable online health information and resources, Journal of the American Medical Association 280:1380, 1998.
- ^ U.S. News & World Report: The Best of The Web Gets Better
- ^ Web Sites Reviews - Health- Forbes "Web Sites Review" list under "Health" category
- ^ Forbes.com, Best of the Web: Review of Quackwatch.
- ^ Quackwatch: Awards and honors
- ^ USP - Faculty
- ^ Kauffmann JM (2002). Website Review: Alternative Medicine: Watching the Watchdogs at Quackwatch., Journal of Scientific Exploration, 16, 2
- ^ Joel Kauffman, Malignant Medical Myths: Why Medical Treatment Causes 200,000 Deaths in the USA each Year and How to Protect Yourself. Infinity Publishing (January 30, 2006) ISBN 0-7414-2909-8
- ^ Quackpot Watch
- ^ A Response to Tim Bolen by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Donna Ladd, Diagnosing Medical Fraud May Require a Second Opinion, The Village Voice, June 23 - 29, 1999 available online
- ^ Burton Goldberg, You Don't have to be Sick: What's Eating Stephen Barrett?, Alternative Medicine Digest, July 1998 available online
- ^ Index of Hundreds of Health Topics
- ^ Quackwatch review. Accessed Sept. 3, 2006
- ^ a b Cranton EM.Rebuttal to "Quackwatch" Website Opposing Chelation Therapy
- ^ Saul Green. Chelation Therapy: Unproven Claims and Unsound Theories
- ^ James Pontolillo. Colloidal Mineral Supplements: Unnecessary and Potentially Hazardous
- ^ Schrauzer GN. QuackWatch Rebuttal
See also
- Alternative medicine
- Consumer protection
- Evidence-based_medicine
- Medical_ethics
- National_Council_Against_Health_Fraud
- Pseudoscience
- Scientific_skepticism
- Skepticism
- Stephen Barrett
External links
- Quackwatch
- QuackpotWatch - critical
- QuackWatch Watch - critical