PalMD is a practicing internist in the Great Lakes region of the U.S.. Aside from the great joy he finds in his family and his work, he likes communicating some of that joy to others. He has a special interest in the ways patients---and we are all patients at one time or another---are deceived by charlatans. He aims to change the world, one reader at a time. Previous writings can still be found 
"These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."
This "Quack Miranda Warning" is on every just about every woo-meister's website. I see dozens of patients every day, and I never Mirandize them, so whats the deal?
There are three ways to look at this: the truthful way, the sinister way, and the bat-shit insane way.
I can't really help the people who believe #3, but people who are willing to suspend their paranoia should read #'s 1 and 2 a few times. Unless you're being arrested, no one should be reading you your rights. The Quack Miranda Statement is the red flag that should send you running.
Medicine & Health
Comments
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Posted by: Jim Yu | January 14, 2009 8:02 PM
I would be interested to see someone study whether those with relatives in health care have better outcomes.
Posted by: Matthew | March 13, 2009 3:17 AM
Great, my first comment, and I post it under the wrong story.
Posted by: Matthew | March 13, 2009 3:20 AM
I think most woo-peddlers honestly believe that their woo is effective, which puts them into your "bat shit crazy" class. However, it seems to me that the woo-sters don't need to be conspiracists. Instead they seem to argue, "Oh, that's just the fine print. The FDA is highly resistant to investigating these techniques/treatments so we have to toe the legal line until they stop being so unreasonable. Trust me, this stuff works."
This line of reasoning plays well since we're all familiar with ass-covering legalese and the plodding progress of bureaucracy.
If this weren't so, I would agree that the "Quack Miranda" warning ought to raise more eyebrows!
Posted by: Jay | July 24, 2009 10:55 AM
Let's do a mandatory rewrite without the exaggerations --
Bat-shit insane:
The FDA and Big Pharma are in cahoots with the AMA to keep you from learning all the SIMPLE WAYS TO KEEP YOURSELF HEALTHY before you need to see a real doctor who will then milk you for all you've got. (No kidding, some have lost their homes! from medical debt.)
Jay:
The fine print... kind of like the one from FDA Approved Drug Commercials on TV with the guy talking 1000 words a minute, stating that "in rare cases, some people have had seizures, heart attacks, gone into a coma or spontaneously combusted." LOL!
Always double standards. I love you guys!
Posted by: J. Defoe | October 24, 2009 3:02 AM