User:Nederlandse Leeuw/Betz

Wim Betz
Wim Betz in his garden, 2001.
Born	22 February 1943 Belgium
Alma mater	Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Occupation(s)	Physician, professor emeritus, skeptical activist
Known for	Criticism of homeopathy
Scientific career
Fields	Medicine, alternative medicine

Willem (Wim) Betz (born 22 February 1943) is a Flemish physician and professor emeritus at the Belgian university Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where he was head of the centre for training in general medical practice until November 2007. Betz is a leading skeptic in Flanders and participant in the EU COST B4 Project, a European initiative for comprehensive research on complementary and alternative medicine. He is a founding member and current vice-president of the Belgian skeptical organisation SKEPP, and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Education and career

After twenty years as a general practitioner, he turned full-time to the teaching of general medical practice as well as conducting scientific research. He took courses in several types of alternative medicine (homeopathy every Sunday for two years around 1970, neural therapy, manual therapy) and practiced them successfully. However, when he noticed patients remained just as content when he proscribed them 'the wrong sugar pill', he started to question the explanations given for the successes that were being claimed by alternative treatments, and began to investigate the existing evidence for these methods. According to Betz, the explanations can be found in the field of psychosomatics (which studies how the mind can affect the body), in the placebo effect, in the fact that many illnesses disappear spontaneously (e.g., common colds) or fluctuate (e.g., allergies), as well as in the deceptive methods of quackery.

In the 1990s, Betz was asked to participate as an academic advisor representing Belgium in the EU COST B4 Project, a European initiative for comprehensive research on complementary and alternative medicine. He relates that during the first meeting, the majority of participants from 12 European countries sold alternative medicines themselves, creating a conflict of interest, and that although officially the meeting's subject was "How can we prove alternative medicines work?", the chair started out by asking: "Dear colleagues, how can we promote alternative medicine?" Betz replied: "Shouldn't we check first if it actually works?", to the indignation of all those present. Betz and other more critical members then participated in several working groups, explaining why alleged "proofs" that homeopathy worked that had thus far been put forward by homeopaths, did not stand up to scrutiny and were therefore rejected by scientists. The result was a statement in which they collectively admitted the evidence for alternative medicine was insufficient, but also detailed under which circumstances evidence might be found and accepted.

Skeptic

Betz is co-founder of SKEPP, a non-profit organisation that promotes scientific skepticism in Belgium, of which he is currently vice-president. At SKEPP he is the expert in alternative medicine and the relevant legislation. He has participated actively in the debate on near-death experiences, following the publication of an article by the Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommel. Betz was also involved in the creation of the EU COST B4 Report. The report describes the scientific criteria and conditions for alternative medical practices before they can be recognized as a medical profession. Betz is also a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Betz became professor emeritus in October 2007.

Awards

In 2012, Betz was presented with the European Council of Skeptical Organisations' Outstanding Skeptics Award at the 6th World Skeptics Congress.

References

Category:Flemish physicians Category:Belgian skeptics Category:Fellows of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Category:1943 births Category:Living people