Dr. Oz Has a Checkered Health Care Record: What to Know About Key Issues

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“America’s Doctors” could soon have an even greater influence on shaping American medicine.

On Tuesday, President-elect Donald J. Trump announced that he would nominate longtime TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This position will be a powerful position with the ability to manage a budget of over $1 trillion. This in turn affects drug price negotiations, drug coverage decisions, and the Affordable Care Act.

Dr. Oz is a trained heart surgeon who first rose to fame after appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” with Ms. Winfrey calling him “America’s Doctor” and appearing on her own daytime show “ He rose to stardom with his debut. On and off screen, he has used his influence as one of America’s most famous doctors to champion healthy habits such as nutritious eating. But he also spread misinformation about COVID-19 treatments, weight loss hacks, unproven supplements, and more. While he has publicly targeted Big Pharma, he has invested in pharmaceutical companies and profited from medical devices he helped invent but have been subject to several recalls.

During his nearly two decades in the public eye, Dr. Oz has drawn the ire of medical professionals, members of Congress, and his own colleagues, including a group of 10 doctors who called for his dismissal from his Columbia University faculty position. . He claimed to have shown “.”contempt for science” (University appears quietly sever public relations See your doctor in 2022. )

Dr. Oz did not respond to requests for comment.

His nomination has caused concern for some doctors and others working in public health. “We have no idea what side of Dr. Oz we’re going to see,” says Dr. Peter Cohen, a physician and associate professor at Harvard Medical School who studies supplements. “I hope I meet a cardiothoracic surgeon who pays close attention. And I hope I don’t meet a promoter of unproven plant medicines.”

Here are five key areas of Dr. Oz’s health accomplishments.

weight loss

Dr. Oz has a long history of promoting dubious weight loss products such as raspberry ketones, garcinia cambogia, and green coffee bean extract, frequently touting their “magical” or “miracle” ability to help people lose weight. I admire it. Many of these claims have no evidence or have been proven false.