Doctors Call For Removal Of Dr. Oz From Columbia University Faculty, Citing 'Disdain For Science'

Dr. Mehmet Oz, perhaps the most recognized physician in the country, is facing some backlash from his peers around the country. A group of doctors has called for Oz's removal from the faculty of Columbia University, where he is the vice chair of the Department of Surgery.

The chief complaints, which have plagued Oz before, focus on his repeated endorsements of products which he was later forced to admit in court lacked evidence for the treatments they claimed to deliver.

In June, Oz told a congressional panel for consumer protection that he knew a number of those items "don't have the scientific muster to present as fact."

One such endorsement was for green coffee extract as a weight-loss supplement, which the study's researchers later could not validate, after probing from a watchdog organization. Another time, Dr. Oz suggested that many brands of apple juice contain dangerous levels of arsenic, though testing from the FDA found no such thing.

"We are surprised and dismayed that Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons would permit Dr. Mehmet Oz to occupy a faculty appointment, let alone a senior administrative position in the Department of Surgery," the doctors wrote to Lee Goldman, dean of medicine at Columbia University.

"As described here and here, as well as in other publications, Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine, as well as baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops.  Worst of all, he has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain."

During the congressional hearing, Senator Claire McCaskill told Dr. Oz, "I don't get why you need to say this stuff when you know it's not true. When you have this amazing megaphone, why would you cheapen your show?... With power comes a great deal of responsibility."