Doctors Weigh In On The 40 Times House M.D. Got It Totally Right Or Horribly Wrong

Gripping, fascinating, entertaining, and wildly unethical, House, M.D. wasn't your average medical drama... and it was never meant to be.

The online media database IMDb describes the main character Dr. Gregory House as "an antisocial maverick doctor specializing in diagnostic medicine [who] does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases that come his way."

While House was marketed as one of the most accurate medical tv series out there, many experts would beg to differ. But even some of the real doctors who call BS on House's diagnoses admit they thoroughly enjoyed watching the show.

Take an expert who goes by Scott, for example. He spent hours reviewing and dissecting every episode of House on his blog, Polite Dissent. The blogger is a family practitioner, and has been lauded by experts as "one of the most dependable and dedicated analysts of medical TV shows."

While Scott has ripped apart the medical accuracy of House, he also doesn't hold back from praising it. "While it's certainly true that the quality of the show has suffered some over the past few seasons, it still remains the best medical show, if not the best show outright, on television," Scott once wrote.

As one John Hopkins Medicine School newsletter pointed out, Scott's love for the show probably has to do with the fact that he wasn't watching it to learn, or to fact-check.

He was glued to the screen purely for entertainment purposes. And as many of us will agree, House was, and still is, wildly entertaining, even though it has been years since the show was discontinued.

"But there's also something about House's rude, blunt personality that appeals to viewers, especially doctors who would never be able to blow off clinic duty in real life," reads the newsletter. "The hero-as-a-villain is rarely done well, and while we probably wouldn't want to have House's heart, we wouldn't mind getting access to his brain."

Another doctor, Kyle Bradford Jones, MD has also admitted to binge-watching House. He once wrote an entire post on the physicianspractice.com site about what he's learned from the show, saying being a viewer has actually made him a better physician.

Jones adds that he can't pinpoint why he loves House so much but there could be several reasons. "Maybe it's because I like to appear smart by pointing out the ways in which the writers got a medical term or concept wrong. Maybe it's because I want to imagine my practice as dramatic as those on TV, saving lives in a thrilling and effective manner. Or maybe I just find it entertaining," he wrote.

One of the things the show has taught Jones is to always advocate for his patients. "For all of Dr. House's faults and eccentricities, he will fight tooth and nail for his patients. He will buck all administrators, colleagues, and standard practices to ensure that his patient gets the utmost care to save or improve their lives," writes the expert.

"Patients obviously come to us at their sickest and most vulnerable, at a time when they most need an advocate against any barriers they may be facing," he adds. "Patients may not have a way to recognize the extent of your medical knowledge, but they will never turn on someone who fights fiercely for them."

Jones concludes that while House, M.D. is a "dramatic television show with multiple inaccuracies and stretches of reality," it's a useful t**l for real doctors, and a reminder of how they can improve in their own professions.

And as the Collider site rightfully points out, "If we wanted every bit of a medical drama to be realistic, we’d be better off going and sitting in a hospital. We wouldn’t want to do that, though, because the point of TV is to be entertained."