Inability of an "energy transfer diagnostician" to distinguish between fertile and infertile women.
BACKGROUND
Various forms of "energy healing" have become popular in the United States.


OBJECTIVE
To test the assertion that an energy healer can, without physical contact, distinguish the presence or absence of internal organ pathology in individuals who lack overt physical findings.


METHODS
Observational randomized study, in which we tested the assertion by a well-recognized alternative healer that he had particular skill in using energy transfer to detect the presence or absence of fertility disorders in women.


METHODS
Convenience sample of 37 women, 28 of whom had documented pathology resulting in infertility, and 9 of whom were fertile.


RESULTS
The healer was provided with no medical history and performed diagnostic evaluations without physical contact with the blindfolded, clothed, and silent subjects. We compared to random chance the ability of the healer to establish a diagnosis of fertility or fertility disorder.


METHODS
Teaching hospital.


RESULTS
The healer was unable to distinguish the presence or absence of fertility disorders in the study subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
This study points to further need for fair yet rigorous assessment of claims that energy transfer can lead to accurate clinical diagnoses.
Eisenberg
D M
DM
Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Davis
R B
RB
Waletzky
J
J
Yager
A
A
Landsberg
L
L
Aronson
M
M
Seibel
M
M
Delbanco
T L
TL
D004735:Energy Transfer; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000175:diagnosis*; D026443:Spiritual Therapies