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Could movies play a role in doctor-patient relationships?

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, December 10, 2004

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At least one doctor is concerned about how his profession is portrayed in films these days, and wonders what impact that might have on the doctor-patient relationship. Glenn Flores, M.D., an associate professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, reviewed more than 140 movies in the last two years featuring some aspect of a doctor-patient relationship.

His first study was published in July 2002 in the Journal of the National Medical Association. His update to that study is published in this month's issue of Archives of the Disease of Children. He discovered that prior to the 1960s, physicians were portrayed as compassionate and dedicated, but after that time, they are seen as greedy, incompetent, and unethical.

However, Flores doesn't give the thumbs down on all films. His top 10 favorite doctor movies, include Red Beard (1965) for best movie, M*A*S*H* (1970) for most humorous, and The Doctor (1991) as the most useful in medical education. To read the abstract, click here.

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