July

I am troubled by the rather dismissive tone of Dr Richardson’s May 2013 editorial regarding the clinical services proposals made by the BC Pharmacy Association in March of this year [“Pharmacists,” BCMJ 2013;55:181]. It appears that you have not read the proposals themselves but rather are commenting on a media story about the proposals.

In a recent article in the British Columbia Medical Journal I learned that Health Canada now licenses homeopathic vaccines [BCMJ 2013;55:201-202].

I am outraged that Health Canada, the body we’ve entrusted to ensure safety and efficacy of treatments sold to us by corporations, has decided to legitimize pseudo-scientific nonsense known as homeopathy.

Ms Hammond has made some good points about the emerging literature regarding non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Our COHP column was directed to primary care physicians to briefly give an overview of diagnosis of celiac disease and information to counteract “the misinformation and marketing in the public realm.” The issue of non-celiac gluten sensitivity was beyond the scope of our article with an im­posed maximum of 700 words. 

Drs Cadenhead and Sweeny state that “there is no need for patients to avoid gluten unless they have celiac disease, or to avoid wheat unless they have IgE antibody-mediated wheat allergy” and imply that the rest of the patients who think they have gastrointestinal symptoms that are improved on a gluten-free diet are simply following a fad and should be advised to include wheat in their diet [“Gluten elimination diets: Facts for patients on this food fad,” BCMJ 2013;55:161].[

Certificates of Professional Conduct (CPCs) are official legal documents signed by the registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia or his or her delegate.