Over 100 PA Doctors Call Out “Doctor” Oz for Poor Medical Practice in New Letter
109 doctors practicing medicine across the commonwealth today called out Dr. Oz for poor medical practices “by promoting unproven, ill-advised, and at times potentially dangerous treatments.”
Earlier this month, Dr. Val Arkoosh, Dr. Marcelle Shapiro, and Dr. Lisa Perriera kicked off a “Real Doctors Against Oz” tour with a press conference highlighting the threat Oz’s candidacy poses to the health of Pennslyvanians. A full HD video of the press conference can be downloaded here.
The letter reads:
Real Doctors Against Oz: Letter From PA Doctors
Dear Citizens of Pennsylvania,
We the undersigned doctors write with serious concern regarding the candidacy of Dr. Mehmet Oz for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat. As physicians, we strongly believe in evidence-based medicine and sharing honest health information with the public.
As a former daytime TV host, Dr. Oz exploited the hopes and fears of his viewers by promoting unproven, ill-advised, and at times potentially dangerous treatments. He has made clear that he will put enriching himself above all else, even in instances where people’s health is endangered.
Dr. Oz’s record of spreading misinformation and sharing factually incorrect medical advice on The Dr. Oz Show and otherwise is thoroughly researched and well documented.
One 2014 study by the British Medical Journal found that half of the claims made on The Dr. Oz Show were not based in fact and researchers at Georgetown University found that more than 75% of recommendations made on Dr. Oz’s show “did not align with evidence-based medical guidelines.” When called before Congress to answer for this misinformation, even Dr. Oz himself had to admit that “oftentimes [the products I promote] don’t have the scientific muster to pass as fact.”
Dr. Oz would also be another vote to criminalize abortion and he has refused to condemn efforts to ban abortion in Pennsylvania, endangering the lives of women and people who can become pregnant. He has even said that he opposes abortions in cases of rape or incest.
Dr. Oz also disseminated dangerous misinformation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He promoted and defended unproven and possibly dangerous COVID-19 treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin when there wasn’t clear scientific consensus. He also said that COVID-19 vaccines weren’t “true vaccines” like “classic childhood vaccines.” This is all deeply concerning.
In 2015, ten physicians, including surgeons and professors, penned a letter to Columbia’s Dean of Medicine saying they were “surprised and dismayed” that Dr. Oz was a faculty member at the university. The same year, eight Columbia faculty members published an op-ed in USA Today calling out Dr. Oz for “misleading the public” and forcing physicians like themselves to spend “a significant amount of our clinical time debunking Ozisms.” This year, Columbia University decided to cut ties with the former TV host.
As a TV celebrity doctor, Mehmet Oz has displayed a shameful disregard for medical science and the wellbeing of his audience while he enriched himself at the expense of our patients. As physicians we take seriously our responsibility for the health and wellbeing of our patients.
John Fetterman believes that healthcare is a fundamental human right, supports expanding access to affordable health care, protecting people with preexisting conditions, and would vote to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. Protecting the health and wellbeing of our citizens requires that we elect John Fetterman to the US Senate this November.
Sincerely,
Physicians of Pennsylvania
Select last names have been omitted to protect physician privacy.
- Dr. Benjamin Abella
- Dr. Philip Hirshman
- Dr. Ezekiel Tayler
- Dr. Valerie Arkoosh
- Dr. Sohni Dean
- Dr. Lisa W
- Dr. Belinda B
- Dr. Dan Vogl
- Dr. Catherine Burdett
- Dr. Ben Cocchiaro
- Dr. Katherine H. Herz
- Dr. Radhika P
- Dr. Michael Abboud
- Dr. Sara P
- Dr. Anupriya G
- Sarah Horvath
- Sarah L
- Danielle S
- LeeAnn T
- Lynne Coslett-Charlton
- Thomas Dardarian
- Jackie C
- Elizabeth Wolo
- Lawremce Kaplan
- Kathryn Z
- Mark Lopatin
- Ann Steiner
- Sarah Kawasaki
- Sally Pullman-Mooar
- Erika B
- Noah R
- Rabia Choudry
- Lisa Rosen
- Margaret Gilfillan
- Paula Edelson
- Amy Behrman
- Kristina Nicholson
- Abike James
- Melina M
- Kathleen Ackert
- Michal Elovitz
- Holly C
- Danielle Johnson
- Anne K
- Anja L
- Sherry B
- Alison Swigart
- Laura Czulada
- Amy L
- Cathy N
- Maura Dunfey
- Sugandha Landy
- Jeff L
- Jessica Z
- Jay G
- Courtney Schreiber
- Nadia Dowshen
- Deborah Owen
- Nadja Peter
- Shelby D
- Peter Vasquez
- Christina Master
- Roberta Laguerre
- Fran Balamuth
- Matthew Magda
- Esther N
- Jen Keim
- David C
- Karen Feisullin
- Garrett Keim
- Adam Lake
- Kaitlin B
- Jessica M
- Alhambra Frarey
- Rachel Nash
- Nisha G
- Sarah G
- Kathryn K
- Michelle Horn
- Lisa Perriera
- Sarah W
- Holli Warholic
- Sandra Birnbaum
- Robert Marron
- Heather Mascio
- Elizabeth D
- Moira Z
- Adam B
- Corey Herman
- Linsey O
- Laurie G
- Kristen D
- Brian Work
- Shivani P
- Julie Yeh
- Sheila Quinn
- Andrea Fox
- John Butler
- Donna Farrell, DO
- Alan Reinach
- Peter S
- Shannon T
- Ann Honebrink
- Kim R
- Meg Kawan
- Sunita Nasta
- Jenny Wang
- Kerry Krauss
- Danielle Levine
