Naturopaths, Funded By Vitamin Companies, Seek Licensure, Reimbursement

[HuckleB]

https://www.statnews.com/2016/05/17/naturopaths-go-mainstream/

"Naturopaths, who practice an alternative medicine heavy on herbal supplements, are making a big push to gain more authority and stature across the United States, including the right to do more hands-on patient care and to be reimbursed by Medicare.

That’s raising concern among critics who see naturopaths as quacks — and who warn that offering them state licenses, insurance reimbursements, and other recognition only legitimizes their pseudoscience.

“You don’t want to regulate the snake-oil salesmen,” said Steven Salzberg, a computational biologist at Johns Hopkins who has been a vocal critic of naturopaths. “They don’t offer something that works to begin with.”

Naturopaths’ lobbying and public relations drives are funded in part by vitamin companies, which have a vested interest in seeing the profession expand, since many naturopaths promote dietary supplements, herbal remedies, and vitamin infusions for healing.

..."

--------------------------------------------

Further reading on this issue...

Nobody licenses quacks in my state! HB 4531 and the licensing of naturopaths in Michigan
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/nobody-licenses-quacks-in-my-state-hb-4531-and-the-licensing-of-naturopaths-in-michigan/

-------------------------------------------

[Archae]

1. They are following in the footsteps of chiro-quacks...

Since they don't get anywhere in science medicine, they go the political route.

[Orrex]

3. "We just want to give people the freedom to choose. Why do you hate freedom?"

[Dr Hobbitstein]

2. Uggh...

Charlatans. All of them.

[mackdaddy]

4. "Medical errors the third-leading cause of death in America"

Now comes a study in the current issue of the Journal of Patient Safety that says the numbers may be much higher — between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year who go to the hospital for care suffer some type of preventable harm that contributes to their death.

That would make medical errors the third-leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease, which is the first, and cancer, which is second.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/09/20/224507654/how-many-die-from-medical-mistakes-in-u-s-hospitals


My MD came close to killing me putting me on two aspirin a day, and never giving me a simple red blood cell count test. Used to be that DO's were not accepted either. Maybe it would be better to make sure these people were licensed and responsible to a supervising board.

[HuckleB]

6. Do you think that justifies quackery?

BTW, this is a much better piece on that issue.
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/are-medical-errors-really-the-third-most-common-cause-of-death-in-the-u-s/

There is no justification for a board for people who do not qualify to do the job in question. Their education is not viable. http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/nd-confession-part-1-clinical-training-inside-and-out/

[MattBaggins]

7. A supervisory board stacked with idiots like Dr. Oz?

No thanks

[LeftyMom]

11. "some kind of preventable harm that contributes to their death"

Yeah, that probably happens a lot. I lost my mom to that a month ago, and it's not a mistake or a failure of real medicine.

It's not uncommon for sick people to have more than one system damaged, and treating one can risk the other. That's what happened with my mom: she had pneumonia, had to be ventilated, and the antibiotics to treat her lungs and the medication to treat her irregular heart beat caused by the lung problem caused her already diseased liver to fail. I was told that was a possibility, her doctors did their best to avoid it by giving her the lowest possible doses of the least damaging drugs that would do the job. But it happened.

And without that "preventable harm" she'd have drowned in her own fluids two weeks earlier.

[Iggo]

14. Which has fuck-all to do with licensing fake medicine. (n/t)

[Coventina]

5. I predict greatness for this thread.....

[HuckleB]

9. Why thank you!

[Coventina]

10. You are welcome!!

So far, my prediction has not materialized, however.

[Oneironaut]

8. If people like this get licenses, the licenses become pointless.

A lot of naturopath therapy is garbage based on garbage. They've gotten people killed in the past. Anything that is a pseudoscience does not deserve authority or legitimacy. People can use it if they want, but the state endorsing their pseudoscience is dangerous if not criminal.

[HuckleB]

12. Quack attack: Naturopaths and supplement companies press for naturopathic licensure in Michigan

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/05/23/quack-attack-naturopaths-and-supplement-companies-press-for-naturopathic-licensure-in-michigan/

[Iggo]

13. It's not alternative medicine. It's fake medicine. (n/t)

[gollygee]

15. I can imagine how much this is driving you crazy

Having read a number of your posts over time.

I have friends who get into this alternative medical stuff. They spend a fortune on weird creams and supplements that are supposed to solve actual medical problems, and lo and behold they don't get any better. It's frustrating to watch. I try to find kind ways to say, "Just go to a doctor!!"

[Johnny2X2X]

16. Double Blind and Peer Reviewed

If there isn't a legitimate peer review double blind study behind a medicine of any type it's not a legit form of medicine. And the peer review process that is accepted must be followed and the results must be certified.

Naturopaths have zero credibility in the scientific community. Homeopathy has zero effect (it's literally just water). And people would be surprised to learn that taking vitamins has no provable effect either.

[bdwker]

17. TWO WORDS---- Coffee Enemas

[HuckleB]

18. I hear quad shots of espresso enemas can cure any ill!