Information AboutQuackwatch |
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HISTORY Founded in 1969 by Stephen Barrett , M.D., the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud was later incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania in 1970. Pennsylvania Department of State — Corporations In 1996, the organization began the Quackwatch website,1 renaming the organization ''Quackwatch'' in 1997 as the website attracted attention. MISSION AND SCOPE Quackwatch is operated by Stephen Barrett with input from a board of advisors and help from volunteers, including a number of medical professionals.2 Quackwatch describes its Mission as follows: :"...investigating questionable claims, answering inquiries about products and services, advising quackery victims, distributing reliable publications, debunking pseudoscientific claims, reporting illegal marketing, improving the quality of health information on the internet, assisting or generating consumer-protection lawsuits, and attacking misleading advertising on the internet." Quackwatch engages the services of 150+ scientific and technical advisors. As Of 2003 , 67 medical advisors, 12 dental advisors, 13 mental health advisors, 16 nutrition and food science advisors, 3 podiatry advisors, 8 veterinary advisors, and 33 "other scientific and technical advisors" were listed.3 Quackwatch claims that the total cost of operating all of Quackwatch's sites is approximately $7,000 per year with no salaried employees at Quackwatch, Inc. It states that it is funded mainly by small individual donations, commissions from sales on other sites to which they refer, and profits from the sale of publications, and self funding by Stephen Barrett. Stated income also is derived from sponsored links for which they receive a commission on products ordered including Amazon books, ConsumerLab.com, Healthgrades, and Netflix. ABOUT THE SITE The Quackwatch website contains many essays written for the non-specialist consumer by Barrett and a board of advisors, and they are therefore not subjected to scientific Peer Review . They discuss health-related products, treatments, enterprises and providers which Quackwatch deems to be misleading, fraudulent or ineffective and include references and links to sources used, as well as to sources for further study. Quackwatch is especially critical of those therapies that it considers dangerous. The site contains information about specific people who perform, market, and advocate therapies it considers dubious, in many cases providing details of convictions for past marketing fraud. It also presents lists of sources, individuals, and groups considered questionable and non-recommended by Quackwatch.45 The site is part of a network of related sites, such as Homeowatch (on , cosponsored by the National Council Against Health Fraud and Victims of Chiropractic,Chirobase available online Victims of Chiropractic available online ) and others, each devoted to specific topics.There are 22 web sites affiliated with Quackwatch. NOTABILITY Quackwatch has been mentioned in the media, reviews and various journals, as well as receiving several awards and honors.Han LF. [http://www.ascp.com/publications/tcp/1999/jul/access.shtml Selected Web Site Reviews, Quackwatch.com] The Consultant Pharmacist. accessed online, 25 Jan 2007. Quackwatch: Awards and honors In 1998, Quackwatch was recognized by the '': :"Dr. Stephen Barrett, a psychiatrist, seeks to expose unproven medical treatments and possible unsafe practices through his homegrown but well-organized site. 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. Barrett received an FDA Commissioner's Special Citation Award for fighting nutrition quackery in 1984. 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." Forbes.com, ''Best of the Web'' website reviews: Quackwatch. Quackwatch has also been cited or mentioned by journalists in reports on '' CRITICISM In a critical website review of Quackwatch, Joel M. Kauffman evaluated eight Quackwatch articles and concluded that the articles were "contaminated with incomplete data, obsolete data, technical errors, unsupported opinions, and/or innuendo..." and "...it is very probable that many of the 2,300,000 visitors to the website have been misled by the trappings of scientific objectivity."Kauffmann JM (2002). Website Review: Alternative Medicine: Watching the Watchdogs at Quackwatch , Journal Of Scientific Exploration , 16, 2 Elmer M. Cranton, MD, author of ''Textbook on EDTA Chelation Therapy'', rebuked criticism by Quackwatch of the , remarked that Barrett "...seems to be putting down trying to be objective."Donna Ladd, ''Diagnosing Medical Fraud May Require a Second Opinion'', The Village Voice, June 23–29, 1999 available online SEE ALSO
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