Wizard of Oz!

                A distinguished group of doctors have written to Columbia University’s  Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine protesting that this preeminent Medical School permits the well known quack and medical entertainer Dr. Mehmet Oz to have a faculty appointment and a senior administrative position in the Department of surgery.   As a retired Family Physician, clinician and academic, I find it hard to  understand how this man has a license to practice, let alone prestigious academic appointments.  He is an embarrassment who would long since have been removed from the medical register in Canada or the United Kingdom.
                 Dr. Mehmet Oz often appears on his popular show to promote new health products and devices.   Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Medicine can see that many of his promotions are completely lacking any scientific basis and are motivated by other considerations than  the welfare of patients.  A series of emails released by Wikileaks between Dr. Oz and his cohorts give some entertaining  insight into what makes Oz tick and it certainly isn't evidence based quality health care.  The fact that this narcissistic product of the "selfi" generation is allowed to propagate  his 'health' allegations, with the imprimatur  of the American medical  establishment and a Columbia staff appointment is disgraceful and doubly damaging.  Indeed, his  recommendations were sufficiently outlandish and commercial to result in a senate hearing.  In a study conducted by the British medical Journal, they found that about half of his recommendations either had no evidence behind them or actually contradicted what the best available science tells us.
                 The situation is particularly egregious in that Dr.Oz  appears to have had a brilliant and successful  career before he decided to abandon any attempt to  help anyone except himself.   Unfortunately, he has vast influence over a large and gullible following, most  of whom have well authenticated evidence based care available to them.  A large section of the public are taken in by the recommendations of celebrities and charlatans.    Dr. Oz has chosen to join their ranks, despite the fact that he knows better.  At least let us remove him from the ranks  of serious, dedicated physicians.