Academic physician specialists' views toward the unproven stem cell intervention industry: areas of common ground and divergence

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Premature commercialization of unproven stem cell interventions (SCIs) has received significant attention within the regenerative medicine community. Patients considering SCIs may encounter misinformation and seek out guidance from their physicians who are trusted brokers of health information. However, little is known about the perspectives of academic physician specialists toward the SCI industry. The purpose of this study was to capture the attitudes of physician specialists with experience addressing patient questions about unproven SCIs. METHODS: The authors undertook 25 semi-structured interviews with academic physicians in cardiology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, p..