Another medical show, more false info

I’ve long had issues with medical shows presenting fair and truthful information. I know the shows are meant for entertainment and I take a lot of their stuff with a grain of salt – such as their usual pathetic portrayal of nurses in the real world. But when they misrepresent health issues, that bothers me a lot.

A couple of months ago, the popular television show House had a bad (in my opinion) plot line that showed a man with “locked in syndrome” diagnosed as brain dead and the emergency room physician wanted to take his heart for donation – something that would never happen in the United States.

Now, there are complaints about the season finale of another popular medical show, Grey’s Anatomy. I have to admit, I haven’t watched this show since its first year. I liked it the first year but then it got too ridiculous for my tastes, but it is still very popular.

In the season finale, one of the main characters had to make a drastic choice for treatment of melanoma that had spread to her brain. The problem is, one of the options wasn’t really an option. Rather than going into it all again, this article, Doctors, patients say ‘Grey’s’ cancer story isn’t accurate , talks about it and explains the issues well.

What do you think? Should medical shows be held to a standard that they shouldn’t play with medical facts? Do they have a strong enough hold on viewers that what they show may help people make decisions about their care, right or wrong?

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