Kimball C. Atwood, IV, MD
Founding Fellow
Board of Directors
Newton, Massachusetts, USA
Kimball C. Atwood, IV, MD, is a practicing anesthesiologist in Newton, Massachusetts, and is also board-certified in internal medicine. He is Assistant Clinical Professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine.
Dr Atwood became active in promoting the imperative of science in medicine during the 1990s, when the most recent public interest in implausible health claims began to influence American medical schools, medical literature, and government. From 2000 to 2002 he was a member of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medical Practitioners and wrote its report opposing the licensure of naturopaths. He has assisted the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine on matters regarding non-standard practices.
Dr Atwood has written numerous articles explaining and critiquing practices that others have termed “complementary,” “alternative,” or “integrative.” He is particularly concerned about the promotion of implausible health care practices by government and medical schools. He has explained how the current practice of Evidence-Based Medicine is frequently inadequate to the task of judging highly implausible claims. He has also exposed the dangers and ethical problems of exposing human subjects to clinical trials of implausible methods.
Dr Atwood is currently associate editor of The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, co-editor of Naturowatch, an editor of the Science-Based Medicine Blog, and part of the online Better Health Network. He is a Fellow of the Committee of Skeptical Inquiry.
Selected Publications:
- “Patients have a ‘CAM’ knowledge gap – but who will fill it?” American Journal of Hematology, 2009 Dec; 84(12):788-789. [DOI]
- “In pediatric fatality, edetate disodium was no accident” (with E Woeckner), Clinical Toxicology, 2009 Mar; 47(3):256.
- “Colorado is nearer to promoting naturopathic pseudomedicine-aided by the Colorado Medical Society," Science-Based Medicine, 2009 Feb 20.
- “Why the NIH Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) should be abandoned” (with E Woeckner, RS Baratz & WI Sampson), Medscape Journal of Medicine, 2008 May 13; 10(5):115.
- “Charles H. Farr and the purported scientific and medical rationale for intravenous hydrogen peroxide,” Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 2007; 11(1):.
- “Propagation of the Absurd: demarcation of the Absurd revisited” (with WI Sampson) Medical Journal of Australia, 2005 Dec 5-19; 183(11/12):580-581.
- “[Speakout:] State ignores naturopaths’ ‘quackery’” (with CE Bartecchi), Special to The Rocky Mountain News [Denver], 2005 Sep 19.
- “The P6 acupuncture point and postoperative nausea and vomiting,” Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 2004 Fall/2005 Winter; 8(2):29-31.
- “Bacteria, ulcers, and ostracism? H. pylori and the making of a myth,” Skeptical Inquirer, 2004 Nov-Dec; 28(6):.
- “Naturopathy, pseudoscience, and medicine: myths and fallacies vs truth,” Medscape General Medicine, 2004 Mar 26; 6(1):33.
- “The politics (and bad science) of alternative medicine: reaction,” Skeptical Inquirer, 2004 Jan-Feb; 28(1):60-61.
- “Naturopathy: a critical appraisal,” Medscape General Medicine, 2003 Dec 30; 5(4):39; discussion, 2004 Apr 30; 6(4):34.
- “‘Neurocranial restructuring’ and homeopathy, neither complementary nor alternative,” Archives of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 2003 Dec; 129(12):1356-1357.
- “Prior probability: the dirty little secret of ‘evidence-based alternative medicine’,” 11th European Skeptics Congress, 2003 Sep 5-7. [abstract]
- “Testimony opposing naturopathic licensure in Massachusetts: presented to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Joint Committee on Health Care,” Massachusetts Medical Society, 2003 May 28.
- “The ongoing problem with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine,” Skeptical Inquirer, 2003 Jan-Feb; 27(1):23-29.
- “Why naturopaths should not be licensed,” Quackwatch, 2001 Dec 30.
- “Naturopathic opposition to immunization,” (with SJ Barrett), Quackwatch, 2001 Dec 30.
- “On considering alternative medicine,” Vital Signs, 2001 Nov; discussion, 2002 Mar.
- “Revealing quotations from leading ‘naturopathic physicians’,” Quackwatch, 2001 Jul 3.
- “Factors that shape critical thinking about ‘alternative medicine,’” Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 2001 Summer; 5(3):160-164.
- “Homeopathy and critical thinking,” Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 2001 Summer; 5(3):146-148.
Podcast:
Selected Blogging:
- “Of SBM and EBM redux,” Science-Based Medicine, Part I (2010 Nov 12), Part 2 (2010 Dec 10), Part 3 (2011 Jan 7).
- “Vaccine Wars: the NCCAM drops the ball,” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Nov 4.
- “Uff da! The Mayo Clinic shills for snake oil,” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Oct 15.
- “Evidence-based medicine, human studies ethics, and the ‘Gonzalez Regimen’: a disappointing editorial in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,” Science-Based Medicine, Part 1 (2010 Sep 17), Part 2 (2010 Sep 20).
- “Open letter to Dr. Josephine Briggs,” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Jul 23.
- “New CMS Chief Donald Berwick: a Trojan horse for quackery?” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Jul 15.
- “Professional integrity for sale? ‘Sure,’ says Medscape!” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Jun 25.
- “Bogus diagnostic tests,” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Apr 29.
- “My NCCAM wish list,” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Apr 2.
- “The 2nd Yale Research Symposium on Complementary and Integrative Medicine,” Science-Based Medicine, Part 1 (2010 Mar 5), Part 2: (2010 Mar 9).
- “Yes, Jacqueline: EBM ought to be synonymous with SBM,” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Feb 5.
- “The mythology of Larry Dossey,” Science-Based Medicine, 2010 Jan 19.
- “Acupuncture, the p-value fallacy, and honesty,” Science-Based Medicine, 2009 Dec 15.
- “Health care bills: more mischief in Washington,” Science-Based Medicine, 2009 Oct 16.
- “‘Gonzalez Regimen’ for cancer of the pancreas: even worse than we thought,” Science-Based Medicine, Part 1 (2009 Sep 1), Part 2 (2010 Sep 20).
- “Human subjects as political pawns,” Science-Based Medicine, 2009 Jul 1.
- “‘Acupuncture Anesthesia’: A Proclamation from Chairman Mao,” Science-Based Medicine, Part 1(2009 May 15), Part 2 (2009 May 29), Part 3 (2009 Jun 12), Part 4 (2009 Jun 26), Redux (2009 Jul 24).
- “Naturopathy and liberal politics: strange bedfellows,” Science-Based Medicine, 2009 Mar 20.
- “How state medical boards shoot themselves (and you) in the foot,” Science-Based Medicine, 2008 Oct 31.
- “Update on the NIH ‘Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy’,”Health Care Renewal, 2008 Sep 27.
- “Death of an autistic child: chelation without indication,” Health Care Renewal, 2006 Nov 20.
- “State ignores naturopaths’ ‘quackery’,” Confessions of a Quackbuster, 2005 Sep 26.
Report to Legislature:
- Minority Report of the Special Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medical Practitioners: A Report to the [Massachusetts] Legislature, Jan 2002.
In the News:
- “Quality: quackery, evidence, and informed choice,” by Shannon Brownlee, The New Health Dialogue, 2010 Sep 9.
- “Save taxpayer $$$: eliminate alternative medicine research,” by Steven Salzberg, Forbes: Science Business, Research, Innovation & Policy, 2010 Jun 16.
- “Outbreak irony: IV wasn't needed,” by Marty Clear, Health News Florida, 2010 May 13.
- “Federal officials probe $30M chelation study over ethics, risks,” by Marilynn Marchione, Associated Press, USA Today, 2009 Sep 26.
- “The Naturopathy Movement,” The Center for Consumer Freedom, 2009 Aug 4.
- “‘Incredibly unethical': Federal probe finds problems in chelation study,” Associated Press, USA Today, 2009 Jul 2.
- “Chelation therapy trials halted,” by Mike Mitka, Journal of the American Medical Association, Medical News & Perspectives, 2008; 300(19):2236. [DOI]
- “Voice of reason: licensing naturopaths may be hazardous to your health,” by Andrew A. Skolnick, Live Science, 2004 Nov 18.
- “Alternative medicine outside the ivory towers,” Douglas J. Sprung, MD, Medscape Today, 2004 May 14.
Selected Presentations:
Science-Based Medicine Panel, Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, New York City, 2010 April 17.
“Why evidence-based medicine is not yet science-based medicine,” Science-Based Medicine Conference, The Amazing Meeting 7, Las Vegas, 2009. [Bibliography]
The Online Kimball Atwood:
