American Academy of Environmental Medicine: Difference between revisions

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No, it really isn't fine. Quackwatch is not a peer review, it is not a medical board, it is not a governing body, and so on. It is the opinion of one person, and one who has many times provided unreliable information on some topics, "appeals to authority" not withstanding. Further, the want for WP editors to disallow QW is plethora, as evidenced by the "what links here" page of that article. Discuss in talk page if you want consensus for including that information, and bring better sources.
Tag: Reverted
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Composed primarily of traditionally trained physicians from many specialties, the principal goals of the AAEM are physician education and the expansion of medical knowledge about often-overlooked effects on human health of environmental exposures encountered in everyday life.<ref>[https://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/comments/2009/apr-june/aaem_comments.pdf Letter of Jennifer Armstrong MD, FAAEM, BIBEM, President, American Academy of Environmental Medicine ''(PDF file)''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926131710/http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/comments/2009/apr-june/aaem_comments.pdf |date=2013-09-26 }} to US Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, April, 2009</ref>
Composed primarily of traditionally trained physicians from many specialties, the principal goals of the AAEM are physician education and the expansion of medical knowledge about often-overlooked effects on human health of environmental exposures encountered in everyday life.<ref>[https://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/comments/2009/apr-june/aaem_comments.pdf Letter of Jennifer Armstrong MD, FAAEM, BIBEM, President, American Academy of Environmental Medicine ''(PDF file)''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926131710/http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cer/comments/2009/apr-june/aaem_comments.pdf |date=2013-09-26 }} to US Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, April, 2009</ref>


The AAEM opposes the use of [[mercury (element)|mercury]]-containing compounds in any product for human consumption, including [[mercury in vaccines]]. The AAEM also opposes [[water fluoridation]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aaemonline.org/images/FluorideResolution.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125204511/http://aaemonline.org/images/FluorideResolution.pdf |archive-date=2011-11-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and has called for a moratorium on food from [[genetically modified crops]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html |title=Genetically Modified Foods |access-date=2012-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422141922/http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html |archive-date=2012-04-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The AAEM has been cited as an questionable organization by [[Quackwatch]] for promoting discredited diagnoses like [[multiple chemical sensitivity]], [[chronic candidiasis]], and toxic mold syndrome.<ref name=qw>{{cite web|last=Barrett|first=Stephen|title=Questionable Organizations: An Overview|url=https://quackwatch.org/consumer-education/nonrecorg/|publisher=[[Quackwatch]]|access-date=20 Dec 2023}}</ref><ref name="aaem-actions">{{cite web |last1=Barrett |first1=Stephen |title=Regulatory Actions against AAEM Members {{!}} Quackwatch |url=https://quackwatch.org/consumer-education/nonrecorg/aaem_reg/ |website=Quackwatch |access-date=21 December 2023 |date=23 November 2016}}</ref>
The AAEM opposes the use of [[mercury (element)|mercury]]-containing compounds in any product for human consumption, including [[mercury in vaccines]]. The AAEM also opposes [[water fluoridation]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aaemonline.org/images/FluorideResolution.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125204511/http://aaemonline.org/images/FluorideResolution.pdf |archive-date=2011-11-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and has called for a moratorium on food from [[genetically modified crops]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html |title=Genetically Modified Foods |access-date=2012-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422141922/http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html |archive-date=2012-04-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==History==
==History==
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==Legitimacy==
==Legitimacy==


Proponents of clinical ecology may claim cause-and-effect relationships or low-dose effects that are not generally accepted by toxicologists (allergy, immunology and toxicology). Randolph's theories about how allergies happen, which he promoted from the founding of the field, are the original basis for the suspicious attitude of mainstream medical, legal, and scientific experts towards clinical ecology as a whole. Clinical management of MCS is often considered to be inconsistent with science.<ref name=":0" />
Proponents of clinical ecology may claim cause-and-effect relationships or low-dose effects that are not generally accepted by toxicologists (allergy, immunology and toxicology). Randolph's theories about how allergies happen, which he promoted from the founding of the field, are the original basis for the suspicious attitude of mainstream medical, legal, and scientific experts towards clinical ecology as a whole. Clinical management of MCS is often considered to be inconsistent with mainstream clinical practice.<ref name=":0" />


[[Quackwatch]] lists the American Academy of Environmental Medicine as a questionable organization, and its certifying board, the [[American Board of Environmental Medicine]] as a dubious certifying board.<ref name=qw/> They are not recognized by the [[American Board of Medical Specialties]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Specialties & Subspecialties |url=http://www.abms.org/Who_We_Help/Physicians/specialties.aspx |publisher=[[American Board of Medical Specialties]] |access-date=17 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508025259/http://www.abms.org/who_we_help/physicians/specialties.aspx |archive-date=8 May 2012 }}</ref> In an article last updated in 2016, Quackwatch listed 29 AAEM doctors who were subject to regulatory actions.<ref name="aaem-actions" />
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine and its certifying board, the American Board of Environmental Medicine are not recognized by the [[American Board of Medical Specialties]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Specialties & Subspecialties |url=http://www.abms.org/Who_We_Help/Physicians/specialties.aspx |publisher=[[American Board of Medical Specialties]] |access-date=17 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508025259/http://www.abms.org/who_we_help/physicians/specialties.aspx |archive-date=8 May 2012 }}</ref> However, the academy is accredited by the [[Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education]] to provide continuing medical education.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.accme.org/find-cme-provider/american-academy-environmental-medicine|title= American Academy of Environmental Medicine|access-date= 2013-02-18|archive-date= 2015-09-06|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150906185948/http://www.accme.org/find-cme-provider/american-academy-environmental-medicine|url-status= dead}}</ref>


==Activities==
==Activities==

Revision as of 22:45, 28 February 2024

American Academy of Environmental Medicine
AbbreviationAAEM
Formation1965
TypeProfessional association
HeadquartersWichita, KS
Location
Official language
English
President
Robin Bernhoft, M.D.
Key people
President-Elect: Alvis L. Barrier, M.D., FAAOA; Secretary: James F. Coy, M.D.; Treasurer: James W. Willoughby, II, D.O.
Websitewww.aaemonline.org

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), founded in 1965 as the Society for Clinical Ecology, is an international association of physicians and associated professionals interested in the clinical aspects of ecological or environmental illnesses, which is called clinical ecology. The academy aims for recognition of ecologic illness as a medical diagnosis.

Composed primarily of traditionally trained physicians from many specialties, the principal goals of the AAEM are physician education and the expansion of medical knowledge about often-overlooked effects on human health of environmental exposures encountered in everyday life.[1]

The AAEM opposes the use of mercury-containing compounds in any product for human consumption, including mercury in vaccines. The AAEM also opposes water fluoridation[2] and has called for a moratorium on food from genetically modified crops.[3]

History

The Society for Clinical Ecology was founded in 1965, and inspired by the ideas of Theron Randolph. Clinical ecologists claimed that exposure to low levels of certain chemical agents harm susceptible people, causing multiple chemical sensitivity and other disorders.

Members of the academy may have a background in the field of allergy, and their theoretical approach is derived in part from non-standard concepts of allergic responses that were first articulated by Randolph in the 1960s.[4]

In 1984 the Society changed its name to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine.[5]

Objectives

Some of the objectives of the academy are:

  • To demonstrate that the concepts and techniques of environmental medicine are applicable to all fields of medical practice in which the physician is directly involved in patient care,
  • To have the concept of optimal dose immunotherapy and the rotary diversified diet recognized as safe and effective, and
  • To promote education and research in environmental medicine.[6]

The academy aims at expanding the understanding of interactions between human individuals and their environment, with the ultimate objective of improving the individual's total health. The AAEM works towards the greater recognition, treatment and prevention of illnesses induced by exposures to various biological and chemical agents encountered in our environment, such as in air, food and water.

Legitimacy

Proponents of clinical ecology may claim cause-and-effect relationships or low-dose effects that are not generally accepted by toxicologists (allergy, immunology and toxicology). Randolph's theories about how allergies happen, which he promoted from the founding of the field, are the original basis for the suspicious attitude of mainstream medical, legal, and scientific experts towards clinical ecology as a whole. Clinical management of MCS is often considered to be inconsistent with mainstream clinical practice.[4]

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine and its certifying board, the American Board of Environmental Medicine are not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.[7] However, the academy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education.[8]

Activities

The academy holds meetings and seminars and provides information on diagnosis and treatment of ecologic illnesses.

The academy publishes a directory of members, which includes the procedures they employ in their practices. Proceedings of seminars, including some tape recordings, also have been published. The academy publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Environmental Physician.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Letter of Jennifer Armstrong MD, FAAEM, BIBEM, President, American Academy of Environmental Medicine (PDF file) Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine to US Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, April, 2009
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2012-04-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Genetically Modified Foods". Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  4. ^ a b Harrison, Robert (2014). "Multiple Chemical Sensitivity". Current Occupational & Environmental Medicine (Fifth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education/Medical. pp. 819–826. ISBN 978-0-07-180816-3. OCLC 898477589.
  5. ^ Inquiry into Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (PDF file), Parliament of South Australia, 2005
  6. ^ Page on AAEM Archived 2012-10-10 at the Wayback Machine by Healthfinder.gov
  7. ^ "Specialties & Subspecialties". American Board of Medical Specialties. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  8. ^ "American Academy of Environmental Medicine". Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2013-02-18.

Bibliography

  • Nicholas A. Ashford, Claudia Miller, Chemical exposures: low levels and high stakes. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, 1998. ISBN 0-471-29240-0
  • Randolph, Theron G. (1962). Human ecology and susceptibility to the chemical environment. Springfield, Ill: Thomas. ISBN 0-398-01548-1.
  • Moss, Ralph W.; Randolph, Theron G. (1980). An alternative approach to allergies: the new field of clinical ecology unravels the environmental causes of mental and physical ills. New York: Lippincott & Crowell. ISBN 0-690-01998-X.
  • Randolph, Theron G. (1987). Environmental medicine: beginnings and bibliographies of clinical ecology. Fort Collins, CO: Clinical Ecology Publications. ISBN 0-943771-00-5.

External links