Pharmacological content in the television series "House MD": analysis from a German pharmacologist's perspective

Nowadays, the media make a major contribution to the medical education of the population. However, people who are not experts are hardly able to assess the accuracy of the situations depicted. To test the reliability of the statements made, this paper deals with the analysis of the accuracy of the pharmacological content in the television series Dr. House. The database is currently around 20 years old. The series was first broadcasted in the United States in 2004. The aim of this study was to check the quality of the pharmacological content. In addition, it analyzed the education by the TV series Dr. House in the field of pharmacological knowledge. Ten episodes containing 105 pharmacological items were analyzed. The analysis was illustrated with eleven comparable parameters of the items. This includes, for example, naming the drugs, evaluating the indication, assessing the therapy, and presenting the drug within the scene. In addition, the course of the series was analyzed for the first and eleventh episodes of each season. This resulted in 131 additional pharmacological contents. The study shows a high usage rate of international non-proprietary names (INN). The indications are often correctly stated, and an appropriate therapy is initiated. A particular and quite unusual feature of the series is that drugs are used as diagnostic tools to come to the correct diagnosis. Antibacterial drugs and psychotropic drugs are strongly presented. The analysis also highlights differences in the use of drugs between various genres in which drugs play an important role. Due to the cynical character traits of Dr. House, there were issues of concerns such as lack of patient information and use of dangerous/experimental therapies. There were also several medication errors. The way of drug administration often remained unclear and the mechanism of action was not explained. A comparison of the seasons throughout the series reveals a decline in the quality of naming, explanation, and accuracy of indications and presentation of pharmacological content. The lowest quality is evident in season 6, with a marked improvement in seasons 7 and 8. Despite some concerns regarding ethical issues, the TV series Dr. House makes a valuable contribution to introducing to the public a broad diversity of pharmacological topics.