Robert Bartell wrote: > Thanks for posting this Bill D., as I was searching for just this info > myself. Saves me a lot of time and I won't missplace it again. As I > recall, he also claimed affiliation with some university reaseach > dept. which was exposed as untrue! There are truly some really evil > people in this world, credentialed and otherwise! Robert Bartell
Here is a letter to the editor in this month's Alternative Therapies Magazine about him: REMEMBER THE RIGHT MEN? I have long been disappointed in MD Netguide because of the inherent pre- judices of board members Stephen Barrett and the late John Renner about alterna- tive medicine. Our patients are visiting alternative practitioners in droves; con- ventional physicians know virtually notli- ing about traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractic, homeopathy, and the like. And yet the Barrett/Renner duo con- sistently "dart" just about all alternative medicine Web sites except those whose negativism is similar to their own. At a con- ference some years ago, I pointed out to both Barrett and Renner that physicians are actually quite bright and intellectually curious. Doctors really don't need the pro- tection of "thought police" to guide their exploration into anything, including alter- native medicine. These (and other) self- styled "quackbusters" were the subject of a wonderful editorial by Larry Dossey, MD, titled "The Right Man Syndrome: Skepticism and Alternative Medicine." Frankly, I've found their closed-minded- ness so predictable that I actually visit the "darts" looking for something interesting. Just like most other Web sites, some of these are good and some are appalling, but I do try to make up my own mind and suggest others do the same. And, by the way, readers of this jour- nal might like to know that wholehealth- md.com was just named "Best Alternative Medicine Site" in the annual "Best-of-the- Web" issue by Forbes.com. David Edelberg, MD Medical Adviser http://www.wholehealthmd.com References 1. Dossey L. The right man syndrome: skepticism and alternative medicine. Alt(!rn Ther Health Med. 1998;4(3):12-19,108-114. Marshall
