Harriet A. Hall, MD
Founding Fellow
Board of Directors (Emerita)
Puyallup, Washington, USA
Harriet Hall, MD, also known as “The SkepDoc” from the title of her column in Skeptic magazine, is a retired family physician and flight surgeon.
Dr Hall writes about medicine, so-called “complementary and alternative medicine,” science, quackery, and critical thinking. She is one of the founders of the Science-Based Medicine Blog, a contributor and adviser to the Quackwatch website, a contributing editor to both Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer magazines, and is on the faculty of the annual Skeptic’s Toolbox workshop. She was recently named a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. She was a columnist on health matters for O, The Oprah Magazine,
Dr Hall spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a full colonel. She graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed a family practice residency at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and the Aerospace Medicine Primary Course at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. She was the second female ever to do an Air Force internship (1970-71) where she “ran into a lot of aggravating and amusing situations as a woman in three fields then dominated by men: medicine, the military, and aviation.” She wrote about her experiences in a memoir entitled Women Aren’t Supposed to Fly. Dr Hall also held various administrative positions including Director of Base Medical Services, Chief of Clinic Services, and Chief of Aerospace Medicine at bases in Spain, New York, Washington, and Wyoming. She did “everything from delivering babies to taking the controls of a B-52.” With an abiding interest in Spanish language and literature, she also lived in Spain for a total of seven years. She is married, with two grown daughters.
Dr Hall served on ISM’s board of directors during its first year (2009-2010).
Selected Publications/Presentations:
- “Angell’s review of psychiatry,” Science Based Medicine Blog, 2011 Jul 26.
- “Acupuncturist’s unconvincing attempt at damage control,” Science Based Medicine Blog, 2011 Jun 21.
- “Acupuncture’s claims punctured: not proven effective for pain, not harmless,” Pain, 2011 Apr;152(4):755-64.
- “Diet supplements or nutritional supplements: a ruse by any other name is still a ruse,” Science Based Medicine Blog, 2011 Feb 22.
- “A new perspective on the war against cancer,” cience Based Medicine Blog, 2010 Dec 21.
- “Journal Club debunks anti-vaccine myths,” Science Based Medicine Blog, 2010 Nov 2.
- “Mayo Clinic on home remedies,” Science Based Medicine Blog, 2010 Oct 5.
- "Science-based medicine," podcast interview on For Good Reason, 2010 Feb 27.
- “Tooth fairy science and other pitfalls: applying rigorous science to messy medicine,” PowerPoint presentation from the Skeptic’s Toolbox, 2009.
- “The one true cause of all disease,” Science Based Medicine Blog, 2009 Dec 15.
- “Snake Oil Science: The Evidence for Alternative Medicine,” Oregonians for Science and Reason, 2008 Mar 21.
- “Gary Schwartz’s energy healing experiments: the emperor’s new clothes?” Skeptical Inquirer, 2008 Mar-Apr; 32(2):. Reprinted in K Frazier, Science Under Siege: Defending Science, Exposing Pseudoscience (Prometheus, 2009):290-297.
- “The Wall Street Journal debunks the myth of alternative medicine,” Swift Blog, James Randi Educational Foundation, 2008 Dec 31.
- “A skeptical view of SPECT scans and Dr. Daniel Amen,” Quackwatch, 2007 Nov 15.
- “Natural medicines,” Oregonians for Science and Reason, 2006 May 6. [abstract]
- “A scientific critique of chiropractic,” Oregonians for Science and Reason, 2006 May 5. [abstract]
- “Teaching pigs to sing: an experiment in bringing critical thinking to the masses,” Skeptical Inquirer, 2006 May-Jun; 30(3):36-39.
- “Oxygen is good – even when it’s not there,” Skeptical Inquirer, 2004 Jan-Feb; 32(2):48-50,55. Reprinted in K Frazier, Science Under Siege: Defending Science, Exposing Pseudoscience (Prometheus, 2009):323-328.
“The SkepDoc” Column in Skeptic Magazine:- “Aspartame: safe sweetener or perilous poison?” 2011; 16(3):4-5.
- “What is naturopathy?!” 2011; 16(2):4-5.
- “Genomic testing: are we there yet?” 16(1): 4-5.
- “Boost my immune system? No thanks!” 15(4(:4-5.
- “A skeptical look at screening tests,” 15(3):4-5.
- “Chiropractic: a little physical therapy, a lot of nonsense,” 15(2):6-7.
- “Homeopathy: still crazy after all these years,” 2009; 15(1):8-9.
- “What to eat: food, not too much, mostly plants,” 2010; 15(4).
- “What about acupuncture?” 2009;15(3).
- “Swine flu fearmongering,” 2009; 15(3):16-20.
- “Placebos don’t cure anything,” Skeptic (Forum), 2009; 15(3):11.
- “Popular medical fallacies: ancient wisdom; it works for me; natural is good,” 2009; 15(2).
- “Vaccines and autism: A deadly manufactroversy,” 2009; 15(2)26-32.
- “Detox quackery: from footbaths to fetishism,” 15(1).
- “The placebo effect,” 2009; 15(1)56-60.
- “Gulf War Syndrome or Gulf Lore Mythology?” 2009; 14(4)26-29.
- “Ultrasound, fish oil & ear candles,” 2009; 14(3).
- “Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine,” with Skeptic Society, 2009.
- “‘I reject your reality’ – germ theory denial and other curiosities,” 2008;14(3):24-26.
- “Don’t let them hoodia-wink you; bunkum reigns in weight loss pills and bad back devices,” 13(1).
- “Double blind or double talk? Reading medical research with a skeptical eye,” 2007 Oct 31; 13(3):59-63.
- “Keeping an eye on alternative medicine,” 2006; 12(4).
- “Against cholesterol skepticism: potentially dangerous information; a very complex pathological process,” 2006; 12(3):17-18.
- “A review of Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis, by James L. Oschman,” 2005; 11(3):89-93.
YouTube:
“Vaccine false alarms,” panel presentation at The Amazing Meeting, Las Vegas, 2009 Jul.
Podcast:
- “The doctor is in! - Interview: Dr. Harriet Hall, the SkepDoc,” Skepticality, 2008 Jun 11.
Other Noted Publications:
Women Aren’t Supposed to Fly: The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon (iUniverse, 2008).The Online Harriet Hall:
