From Dr. Drew to Dr. Phil to Dr. Oz: It's time to stop trusting TV doctors after they failed us during the pandemic

The Daily Beast

"There is one thing this pandemic has shown us we can do without from the before times," says Daniel Summers, a doctor himself. "Let us be done forever with celebrity doctors, medical or otherwise. For television stars of shows (current or former) with 'Doctor' in the title, it’s been a year of rampant clownery." Summers points to Dr. Drew Pinsky recently testing positive for coronavirus months after downplaying the pandemic. He also brings up Dr. Mehmet Oz overstating the potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine and Dr. Phil McGraw arguing against lockdowns, comparing them to car accidents, drownings, or cigarettes. Pinsky, Oz and McGraw are "America’s hat trick of ersatz professional authority," says Summers. "At this point, in the manner of all celebrities, what concerns them most is staying famous. If that means appearing on FOX and waving around their doctorates in service to the network’s agenda of undermining our nation’s public health experts, then that’s what they’re clearly all too happy to do. Telling an audience what it wants to hear is anathema to ethical behavior for healthcare providers. We often have to give unwelcome information, sometimes have to tell patients that prescriptions or tests they want are clinically warranted, or simply admit we don’t have a clear answer to pressing questions. It’s challenging work, and it doesn’t really make for good television."