Ken Harvey (professor)

Kenneth John Harvey AM is an Australian public health doctor, currently Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor at the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare in Bond University.

Described by The Age as an "anti-quackery crusader", Harvey is an advocate of evidence-based medicine and a critic of pharmaceutical marketing and unproven diet products.

[3] Harvey quit his job with La Trobe in 2014 after the university agreed to receive $15 million from Swisse Wellness to fund a new complementary medicine centre.

"[7] This followed legal action by Swisse against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for defamation in a consumer advocacy show The Checkout, which criticised their research methods.

Harvey served as a consumer representative on Medicines Australia's transparency working group, which advocated for patients to be able to know whether their doctors had been given free flights to industry-funded conferences that promote new drugs.

The TGA rejected this claim, noting the large number of fines handed out over dishonest advertisements during COVID-19, however, the Consumers Health Forum and CHOICE took Harvey's concerns very seriously.

It has advised governments and media, made numerous submissions to enquiries and provided extensive public advice concerning dubious health claims and practices.

[24][25] Harvey was sued for alleged defamation by SensaSlim, a company that marketed products claimed to offer weight loss benefits, after he lodged a complaint about their practices with the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

In response to this failure, Harvey and his colleagues contacted the press, including the AMJ and The Sydney Morning Herald,[31] bringing a large amount of attention to the issue.

[3][4] In 2016, the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science chair Dr Malcolm Jenkins presented Harvey with their ANZAAS Medal,[2] "in recognition of his longstanding advocacy for evidence-based medicine and treatment".

[34] Harvey was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours list, to recognize his "significant service to community health and the pharmaceutical industry through roles in developing guidelines for the ethical use of antibiotics”.