Uploaded March 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
"Complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) or, as it is increasingly called, "integrative medicine," is infiltrating our medical schools and academic medical centers, not to mention even the NIH itself. Acupuncture, reiki, healing touch, herbalism, and even homeopathy are less and less being viewed as quackery and more and more tolerated if not accepted in what should be bastions of science-based medicine. Dr. Gorski will discuss how this sad state of affairs came about, where we are now, and, hopefully, what can be done about it.
David H. Gorski, MD, PhD, FACS is the managing editor of the sciencebasedmedicine.org blog, as well as a contributor both under his own name and the pseudonym "Orac." He is a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute specializing in breast cancer surgery, where he also serves as the Medical Director of the Alexander J. Walt Comprehensive Breast Center and Cancer Liaison Physician for the American College of Surgeons Committee on Cancer. Academically, he is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Oncology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, where he serves as Chief of the Section of Breast Surgery, and is a member of the faculty of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology. Additionally, he serves as Treasurer for the Institute for Science in Medicine. An investigator whose primary research interests include tumor angiogenesis and the role of glutamate receptors in promoting the growth and metastasis of breast cancer, Dr. Gorski also runs an active research laboratory and has recently taken an active interest in the problems of breast cancer overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
There were issues with the audio feed during the recording of this video, for which we apologize.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
0:00 Introduction
2:04 The evolution of quackery
10:23 Integrative medicine equals
11:05 Quackademic medicine
16:08 Evidence-based medicine
16:32 CAM according to the NIH
17:31 A better definition of CAM, courtesy of Dr. Kimball Atwood
18:39 Homeopathy: Foundation
20:05 Homeopathy versus Avogadro's number
23:02 What does Cochrane say about homeopathy?
27:24 "Blending" Eastern and Western concepts of energy
28:28 The Cleveland Clinic on reiki
32:14 Where's the love for ancient "Western" medicine?
32:53 Butt Reflexology Hoax in BMJ
34:28 EBM pyramid - Something missing
35:16 Bench to bedside
35:46 EBM's blind spot
37:34 EBM was blindsided by CAM
38:48 The Trojan Horse enters...
40:14 Posterior probability depends on prior probability
45:36 University of Maryland School of Medicine
46:29 Clinical services?
47:39 EDCAM: Teaching magic to medical students
49:35 If EDCAM isn't enough...
50:34 Andrew Weil: "Integrative" residencies
51:40 CAM vs. the Helsinki Declaration
53:01 Unethical trials: Gonzalez protocol for pancreatic cancer . Gonzalez protocol . Pancreatie enzymes
54:10 Other examples of EBM gone astray
55:08 Hostility to EBM and SBM
57:58 Shruggies (kudos to Val Jones)
"Complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) or, as it is increasingly called, "integrative medicine," is infiltrating our medical schools and academic medical centers, not to mention even the NIH itself. Acupuncture, reiki, healing touch, herbalism, and even homeopathy are less and less being viewed as quackery and more and more tolerated if not accepted in what should be bastions of science-based medicine. Dr. Gorski will discuss how this sad state of affairs came about, where we are now, and, hopefully, what can be done about it.
David H. Gorski, MD, PhD, FACS is the managing editor of the sciencebasedmedicine.org blog, as well as a contributor both under his own name and the pseudonym "Orac." He is a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute specializing in breast cancer surgery, where he also serves as the Medical Director of the Alexander J. Walt Comprehensive Breast Center and Cancer Liaison Physician for the American College of Surgeons Committee on Cancer. Academically, he is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Oncology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, where he serves as Chief of the Section of Breast Surgery, and is a member of the faculty of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology. Additionally, he serves as Treasurer for the Institute for Science in Medicine. An investigator whose primary research interests include tumor angiogenesis and the role of glutamate receptors in promoting the growth and metastasis of breast cancer, Dr. Gorski also runs an active research laboratory and has recently taken an active interest in the problems of breast cancer overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
There were issues with the audio feed during the recording of this video, for which we apologize.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS).
0:00 Introduction
2:04 The evolution of quackery
10:23 Integrative medicine equals
11:05 Quackademic medicine
16:08 Evidence-based medicine
16:32 CAM according to the NIH
17:31 A better definition of CAM, courtesy of Dr. Kimball Atwood
18:39 Homeopathy: Foundation
20:05 Homeopathy versus Avogadro's number
23:02 What does Cochrane say about homeopathy?
27:24 "Blending" Eastern and Western concepts of energy
28:28 The Cleveland Clinic on reiki
32:14 Where's the love for ancient "Western" medicine?
32:53 Butt Reflexology Hoax in BMJ
34:28 EBM pyramid - Something missing
35:16 Bench to bedside
35:46 EBM's blind spot
37:34 EBM was blindsided by CAM
38:48 The Trojan Horse enters...
40:14 Posterior probability depends on prior probability
45:36 University of Maryland School of Medicine
46:29 Clinical services?
47:39 EDCAM: Teaching magic to medical students
49:35 If EDCAM isn't enough...
50:34 Andrew Weil: "Integrative" residencies
51:40 CAM vs. the Helsinki Declaration
53:01 Unethical trials: Gonzalez protocol for pancreatic cancer . Gonzalez protocol . Pancreatie enzymes
54:10 Other examples of EBM gone astray
55:08 Hostility to EBM and SBM
57:58 Shruggies (kudos to Val Jones)
