CNN’s Brian Stelter reports that Dr. Mehmet Oz will air a special episode of his show this Thursday in order to respond to allegations that he’s “promoting quack treatments and cures.”
It comes on the heels of a letter written by several top doctors to Columbia University urging school officials to distance themselves from Dr. Oz, who holds a faculty position there.
“We plan to show America who these authors are, because discussion of health topics should be free of intimidation,” a spokesman for the show said.
The details, including the Thursday air date, are subject to change. The episode will be taped on Tuesday or Wednesday.
…
… Oz and his representatives have concluded that it is necessary because of the “intimidation” they perceive from the doctors. In his statement on Friday, he suggested the doctors have “certain agendas which distort the facts.”
It sounds like Oz is going to point his finger at the messengers instead of addressing the message… as if the letter writers are the real problem here.
The letter isn’t the issue. Even if every doctor who signed it turned out to be a fraud, the points they bring up are still valid. Oz is peddling bullshit and promoting unverified products that don’t have any backing in science.
If he can’t bring himself to admit that he’s a major part of the problem here — by pushing “miracle” drugs and weight-loss cures and alternative medicines — then we’re right back to where we started, with the “most trusted doctor in America” giving his viewing audience false (and possibly harmful) hope without the blessings of the broader medical and scientific communities.
(Image via lev radin / Shutterstock.com. Thanks to Ed for the link)
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