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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

The next frontier in “integrative medicine”: Getting Medicaid to fund quackery

Naturopaths are not the only relentless quacks seeking to bend government to legitimize their quackery. Acupuncturists are now working to get Medicaid to fund acupuncture services. They are succeeding.

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Announcements Antivaccine nonsense Personal

Take that, antivaxers! This is nearly the end…of 2017, that is—with puppies!

It’s the end of the year. So, before I take the rest of the year off, not to return until January 3, I thought I’d end on a happy note. What could be happier than puppies?

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Homeopathy Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery

Will 2018 be the year that the FDA finally regulates homeopathic remedies as drugs?

Earlier this week, the FDA issued draft guidance that would, if adopted, allow it to regulate homeopathic remedies as drugs. Will 2018 be the year that the FDA finally stops deferring to homeopaths and regulating homeopathic remedies as drugs?

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Politics

The Trump administration versus “seven dirty words” at the CDC

On Saturday, The Washington Post broke a story that Trump administration will prohibit officials at the CDC from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “transgender,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based” — in official documents being prepared for next year’s budget. Although the Trump administration furiously backpedaled over the weekend and it now appears that HHS was the source of the edict, this an ominous indication that the Trump administration will attempt to impose ideology on the most important public health agency in the federal government.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience

Dr. Kelly Brogan’s e-book “Vaccines and Brain Health”: A cornucopia of antivaccine misinformation and pseudoscience

Last week, while discussing the antivaccine stylings of “holistic psychiatrist” Dr. Kelly Brogan, I promised to revisit her e-book “Vaccines and Brain Health.” Never let it be said that Orac doesn’t keep his promises.