Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks

Ben Goldacre

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Oct 12, 2010 - Science - 304 pages

Have you ever wondered how one day the media can assert that alcohol is bad for us and the next unashamedly run a story touting the benefits of daily alcohol consumption? Or how a drug that is pulled off the market for causing heart attacks ever got approved in the first place? How can average readers, who aren't medical doctors or Ph.D.s in biochemistry, tell what they should be paying attention to and what's, well, just more bullshit?

Ben Goldacre has made a point of exposing quack doctors and nutritionists, bogus credentialing programs, and biased scientific studies. He has also taken the media to task for its willingness to throw facts and proof out the window. But he's not here just to tell you what's wrong. Goldacre is here to teach you how to evaluate placebo effects, double-blind studies, and sample sizes, so that you can recognize bad science when you see it. You're about to feel a whole lot better.

What people are saying

BAD SCIENCE: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks

User Review  - Kirkus

British National Health Service physician Goldacre shoots down what he considers to be quackery.This updated version of the UK edition, published in 2008, begins with the statement, "Homeopaths are ...

User Review -

MAD DOG MILLIONAIRE a.k.a. Punyamurtula Kishore MD ia a QUACK
MAD DOG MILLIONAIRE a.k.a. Punyamurtula Kishore MD, is a QUACK.Patients Die of Improper Medical Treatment and Care Protocols!!!!
Many of Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore s patients have died because of improper treatment and care methods. This Quack MD ( Hitler of Medical Genocide ) should not be allowed to practice medicine anywhere. Preventive Medicine Associates, formerly Addiction medicine Associates was a DEATH CAMP (The Holocaust for Drug Addicts and Alcoholics, Auschwitz in Brookline, MA) I worked at his Brookline office and witness the death of many patients. Dr. Kishore should be arrested, arraigned and prosecuted for 1st. degree murder or manslaughter.
MAD DOG MILLIONAIRE aka PUNYAMURTULA KISHORE MD
Punyamurtula Kishore, M.D. and three other defendants will go on trial
for Medical Insurance
Fraud.The state Board of Registration in Medicine suspended the license of Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore after finding that he posed “an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare.” Kishore closed clinics in 2011 without notifying patients in advance, according to the board.
Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore was reprimanded, fined $2,500 and required to perform 50 hours of Board-approved community service and to complete additional continuing professional development credits. He was found to have inappropriately filed four Temporary Involuntary Hospitalization Applications for the purpose of drug treatment and drug testing. Dr. Kishore is a 1975 graduate of Andhra Medical College in India. He specializes in Addiction Medicine and has been licensed in Massachusetts since 1978
MAD DOG aka PUNYAMURTULA KISHORE MD
Punyamurtula Kishore, M.D. and three other defendants will go on trial i for allegedly bilking MassHealth of almost $20 million, in what Coakley’s office calls an “intricate scheme” involving drug testing, sober homes, and his Preventive Medicine Associates (PMA).
According to Coakley, Kishore used various bribes or kickbacks to persuade sober house owners to require residents to submit urine tests at least three times per week. The tests were performed by PMA’s office laboratories, then billed to MassHealth, which pays $100 to $200 for such screens. Also charged in the case were Carl Smith, manager of New Horizon House, John Coughlin, president of Gianna’s House, and Thomas Leonard, part owner and manager of Marshall House—all for receiving kickbacks.
MAD DOG a.k.a Punymurtula Kidhore MD and Lil Dog a.k.a. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. are responsible for the death of Eleanor Clark of Weston , Massachusetts.
Just look at what happen to James Clark .
James Clark was a client at the same address where the Director/Manager Carl Smith resided at ,50 Draper Street in Dorchester MA. Carl Smith is suppose to be a state licensed Mental Health Clinician , If so , than why did he discharge James Clark ? James clark never tested postive for a toxicology screen for illegal or prescription drugs, than why was he discharged ?
He was discharged for behavioral and attitude problems that were related to his psychiatric and substance abuse diagnosis. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. should have been able to detect that this man had psychological problems and referred him for treatment to MAD DOG aka Punyamurtula K...ishore s Neurological Clinic for treatment and to help James Clark get back on his psychiatric medication. Instead , Carl Smith discharged him and the following day , James Clark murdered his 81 year old grandmother Eleanor Clark in Weston Massachusetts .
Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka MAD DOG Millionaire referred James Clark to Carl Smith s Program New Horizon House after James Clark was Discharged from St. Elizabeths Hospital s S.E.C.A.P. s Detoxification unit. Punyamurtula Kishore aka MAD DOG had a Contract with Carl Smith to provide New Horizon clients with Medical and Mental health Treatment. No treatment was provided except for toxicology screens .  

About the author

Ben Goldacre is a writer, broadcaster, and doctor best known for the Bad Science column in The Guardian. Trained in Oxford and London, with brief forays into academia, Goldacre works full-time for the National Health Service.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks
• Author: Ben Goldacre
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010
• ISBN: 1429967099, 9781429967099
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Health & Fitness / Health Care Issues; Science / Essays; Science / Ethics