Dr. Mehmet Oz has come under fire with a fresh wave of criticism (although the first wave never stopped). Nearly a year ago, the Senate scolded him for his lack of accountability in shilling all sorts of untested products. His enthusiasm can be infectious, and viewers tune in on the regular. Part of the entertainment factor of the show is watching Oz excitedly jump up and down in his scrubs. He’ll endorse almost anything, although he claims to have stopped shilling diet products. That’s a wise move, since many of those products were supported by bogus studies. Some of the products he endorses haven’t been tested and could be dangerous.

Oz still holds a position with Columbia University as a professor (in the department of surgery). His colleagues aren’t pleased to share their ranks with a guy who uses his influence to shout about “miracle cures” and “metabolism game changers.” They’ve accused him of acting under conflicts of interest and supporting products without “evidence-based” benefits. Oz fired back with an entire episode where he trashed his critics, saying “some of them have their own conflict of interest issues.” Oz is not denying that he’s a quack, just that there are other quacks in the room, so stop picking on him, okay? He’s proud of his “flowery language, and he’s a “cheerleader” for his audience.

Oz sat down with Mr. Glib himself, Matt Lauer, to talk about how his show will go nowhere because America needs him:

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has been under fire by fellow physicians seeking his dismissal from Columbia University’s surgery department, says he is confident that his TV show will outlive the current controversy.

“Without question, the show will survive it,” Oz told Matt Lauer in an exclusive interview. “I want to keep doing the show for as long as I can because I think we played an important role in making America a better place.”

Last week, a letter signed by 10 physicians urged Columbia University to cut ties with the surgeon. On Friday, USA Today published an op-ed penned by Oz’s Columbia colleagues who attacked the “Dr. Oz Show” for its promotion of weight-loss products and other items they view as questionable.

Oz said he stands by using words like “radical” and “miracle” while discussing all but one health topic on his show. “I’m proud of all those words. There’s only one time that I have not been proud of and that’s the understandable frustration that has been expressed about weight-loss supplements,” he said. “I wish I could take back the words I said about them. This is a flawed area with lots of fraud, both in the research and in products. And we no longer talk about them. I haven’t talked about them in a year.”

During an earlier interview with NBC’s Stephanie Gosk, Oz defended his show, saying its purpose was to discuss “the good life,” not medicine.

He emphasized the point with Lauer, saying his show is “much broader than a medical lecture series.” Oz said his show embraces “unconventional practices” like the power of prayer or how wellness is practiced in China. He said last week’s letter from doctors criticizing him as careless came from individuals who “have agendas,” specifically biases against genetically modified organisms, an areas he has supported. “I think they were unfair in not wanting us to have that conversation,” he said.

“You’re not going to please everyone, that’s not my goal. My job is to help America understand the opportunity towards health,” he said. “The show has to be much broader than what might take place in a doctor’s office…I completely respect why so many of my colleagues might have a difficulty with that, but I’m also appreciative that many of them do understand why that’s important.”

[From Today]

As I’ve said before, Oz really needs to switch up his show format. If he’s serious about never talking about diet products again, that’s a good start. He’s not in much danger of losing his syndication deals because people enjoy watching him fanboy for a solid hour. I think he does need to choose between maintaining his Columbia tenure and being a talking head. Doing both isn’t working, at least not the way he behaves on his show. Or he could simply switch focus for a good chunk of his episodes. Maybe feature a bunch of cooking episodes. The man gets excited about pasta.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet; screencaps courtesy of Today