Doctor-Patient Relationship and Media

Abstract

Revising the doctor-patient relationship is a very important issue now a day. It is worthwhile and instructive to look at how the media, electronic and print, participate in and affect this relationship. The media sometime intentionally or ignorantly distorts scientific information. Overall, the media has little conception of the process of science. Media needs blacks and whites. Science and medicine are neither of these. So, probably most of the "news" people receive on medical issues is tainted, distorted, and inaccurate. The necessity of high TRP forces all the media to put out all kinds of junk. The most sensational stories attract the most eyeballs. The vast majority of media outlets focus on what sells, i.e., the worst aspects of human behavior.