Is Dr. Oz Dangerous?

Melissa GodarCPH 587Fall 2015

Source: http://dietandi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Dr.Oz_.jpg

Background

❏ More access and more available information make it harder for consumers to determine accuracy.

❏ Implications are more serious for health information.❏ Dr. Mehmet Oz has been the center of a controversy

about the line between evidence-based medical advice and entertainment.

❏ American Medical Association issued a resolution in 2015 to combat the ethical issue of medical professionals spreading inaccurate or incomplete information through media channels.

Goal: verify or dispel the claim that incorrect information provided by mainstream media physicians results in patient harm.

Who is Dr. Oz?Jobs:

❏ Cardiothoracic surgeon

❏ Professor at Columbia

University

❏ Founder

❏ Two health-related

organizations❏ Magazine

❏ Author❏ Medical articles

❏ 7 New York Times best-selling

books

❏ Columns for well-known

magazines

❏ Host of The Dr. Oz Show

Recognition:

❏ Forbes magazine’s Most

Influential Celebrity list

(2010-2014)

❏ Time magazine’s 100 Most

Influential People

❏ Esquire magazine’s 75 Most

Influential People of the 21st

Century

❏ World Economic Forum Global

Leader of Tomorrow

❏ “America’s Doctor”

❏ 7 Emmy Awards

Source: http://images.bwwstatic.com/upload10/518035/tn-500_5drmehmetoz.jpg

The Dr. Oz Show❏ Dr. Oz began as a recurring guest

on The Oprah Winfrey Show.❏ The Dr. Oz Show has been on the

air for five seasons.❏ Airs five days per week.

❏ Over 4 million viewers each day.

❏ Celebrity guests including Michelle Obama, Jimmy Fallon, and Celine Dion.

“the most trusted voice on television”

“to achieve long-term positive health results”

“authentic and admired”

“making health a priority”

“trust is our currency”

“top influencer”

The Dr. Oz Controversy

❏ In 2014 he was summoned to testify in a Senate hearing and was scolded for promoting green coffee bean extract as a “magic weight loss cure”.❏ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkUe4bMS_8Y

Source: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/red-palm-oil-dr-oz.jpg http://i0.wp.com/www.addictinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/dr-oz-miracle-pill.jpg?resize=600%2C335http://s.doctoroz.com/sites/default/files/media/image_thumb/3_103_4_Miracle_Pill_To_Stop_Aging_Still.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/10/21/1413905022224_wps_4_Dr_Oz_Green_Coffee_Beans_.jpg

Methods❏ Google Scholar search

❏ “AMA resolution media information”

❏ “media and health”❏ “Incorrect information provided by mainstream media physicians results in

patient harm”❏ “doctor misinformation spread through media”❏ “doctors and media misinformation”❏ “doctors communicating through mainstream media”❏ “’media training’ for doctors”

❏ “’dr. oz show’”

❏ 5 articles selected for inclusion

❏ Limitations❏ Not a systematic search❏ Author bias❏ Some included articles are commentaries by doctors

Findings

Televised medical talk shows—what theyrecommend and the evidence to support their recommendations: a prospective observational study

Strengths:

❏ Random selection of a number of episodes of The Dr. Oz Show and The Doctors.

❏ Multiple independent coders assessing recommendations provided by the shows.

❏ Expert review of the scientific literature to find evidence for the proposed advice.

Conclusion:

❏ “Approximately half of the recommendations have either no evidence or are contradicted by the best available evidence. Potential conflicts of interest are rarely addressed.”

Reality check: no such thing as a miracle foodStrengths:

❏ Cited peer-reviewed scientific studies.

❏ Specifically investigated a claim made on The Dr. Oz Show.

Limitations:

❏ Search strategy was not included.

Conclusion:

❏ There is not enough evidence to support the promotion of the foods as preventing cancer.

❏ “Many types of studies are needed to evaluate the impact of diet in cancer prevention.” (Inoue-Choi et al., 2014).

Why Dr. Oz Makes Us Crazy

Strengths:

❏ Recommendation seems logical and useful.

Limitations:

❏ Physician commentary.

Conclusion:

❏ Criticized The Dr. Oz Show for attempting to provide population-level medical advice for health problems that require individualized attention.

❏ Medical professionals should clearly state limitations when providing advice to an audience.

❏ Dr. Oz uses successful techniques to educate patients, which could be beneficial to doctors.

The Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media on health careStrengths:

❏ Data on internet search and product purchase behaviors in relation to the airing of associated topics on The Dr. Oz Show.

Limitations:

❏ Stronger evidence such as surveys of show viewers would be necessary to determine a causal relationship.

Conclusion:

❏ Raises concern about the potential for patient harm due to Dr. Oz’s (as well as other celebrities) unsupported advice.

❏ Presents the need for objective research to measure the influence popular media and celebrities have on viewers’ health behaviors.

Source: Bootsman, N., Blackburn, D.F., & Taylor, J. (2014). The Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media onhealth care. Canadian Pharmacists Journal, 147(2), 80-82. doi: 10.1177/1715163514521965

Source: Bootsman, N., Blackburn, D.F., & Taylor, J. (2014). The Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media onhealth care. Canadian Pharmacists Journal, 147(2), 80-82. doi: 10.1177/1715163514521965

Source: Bootsman, N., Blackburn, D.F., & Taylor, J. (2014). The Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media onhealth care. Canadian Pharmacists Journal, 147(2), 80-82. doi: 10.1177/1715163514521965

Following celebrities’ medical advice: meta-narrative analysisStrengths:

❏ Synthesis of information across several disciplines.

❏ Prioritization of empirical evidence and established theories.

Limitations:

❏ Narrative analyses often are not viewed as strong or generalizable evidence.

❏ A causal connection for celebrities’ influence on health behaviors is missing.

Conclusion:

❏ Celebrities are seen as credible, trustworthy, and desirable when offering medical or health advice, no matter their credentials or the available evidence.

❏ Celebrities should be required to disclose conflicts of interest to help consumers decipher actual (versus perceived) credibility.

❏ Harness the power of celebrity to promote evidence-based health behaviors.

“Following actor-singer Kylie Minogue’s diagnosis of breast cancer, bookings for mammograms rose by 40%

in four Australian states.2 Twice as many screenings for cervical cancer were conducted in England during March 2009 compared with the same month one year earlier, corresponding to reality TV star Jade Goody’s

death from the disease.3” (Hoffman & Tan, 2013)

ConclusionThere is not enough evidence to verify that incorrect information provided by mainstream media

physicians results in patient harm, however, the current

evidence is sufficient to warrant preventive action.

❏ More research needed.

❏ Policies to promote or disclose the level

of credibility of health information

presented in the media need to be

enacted as a protective measure for

consumers.

❏ Opportunity to form stronger

relationships between popular television

shows and health professionals to

disseminate accurate health information

in an entertaining way.

❏ Media literacy and health literacy

education are a necessary component

and should be added to school curriculum

at all levels.

Questions?

SourcesAssociated Press. (2014, June 17). Dr. Oz Grilled In Congress, Admits Weight Loss Products He Touts

Don't Pass 'Scientific Muster'. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/dr-oz-congress_n_5504209.html

Bootsman, N., Blackburn, D.F., & Taylor, J. (2014). The Oz craze: The effect of pop culture media onhealth care. Canadian Pharmacists Journal, 147(2), 80-82. doi: 10.1177/1715163514521965

Cifu, A.S. (2013). Why Dr. Oz Makes Us Crazy. J Gen Intern Med, 29(2), 417–8. doi: 10.1007/s11606-013-2646-3

Dobnik, V. (2015, April 17). Top Doctors Demand Columbia University Remove Dr. Oz From His FacultyPosition. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/17/dr-oz-complaint_n_7085178.html

Hoffman, S.J., & Tan, C. (2013). Following celebrities’ medical advice: meta-narrative analysis. BMJ,347, f7151. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f7151

Inoue-Choi, M., Oppeneer, S., & Robien, K. (2014). Reality check: no such thing as a miracle food. NutrCancer, 65(2), 165-168. doi:10.1080/01635581.2013.748921

Korownyk, C., Kolber, M.R., McCormack, J. et al. (2014). Televised medical talk shows—what theyrecommend and the evidence to support their recommendations: a prospective observational study. BMJ, 349, g7346. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g7346

Orac. (2015, June 19). The AMA acts to try to rein in doctors spreading misinformation. Retrieved fromhttp://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2015/06/19/the-ama-acts-to-try-to-rein-in-doctors-spreading-misinformation/

Oz Media. (2014). Retrieved from http://media.doctoroz.com/