Because Dr. Oz said so!

I have a love/hate relationship with Dr. Oz.  You know, that celebrity Hollywood doctor that got his big break by being on the Oprah show?  Kinda reminds me of Dr. Phil's start up too.

I love Dr. Oz because he brings light so medical issues that may otherwise go unvoiced.  For example, women's health.  I think women get scared to go to the doctor for something like a pelvic or breast exam.  He shows women that it's not such a big deal to go and some major problems can be diagnosed and treated quite simply.  For that, I think he's wonderful.

Here's why I hate him.  Because he sensationalizes everything!  I mean, seriously.  If I have a dollar for every time I scan a patient simply because "Dr. Oz said so"...well, I'd have several dollars.

Here's a few situations...

• a patient came in for a thyroid ultrasound.  The diagnosis was "nodule".  Now, before we all get excited, let me just say that almost everyone in the world has a thyroid nodule.  They're benign little growths on the thyroid.  I have 3 of them.  Not a big deal.  Unless they get large or your blood levels show a problem, we leave them alone.  So this patient comes in.  I ask her why we're doing the exam.  She starts off with "I was watching Dr. Oz...".  Right about then was when I rolled my eyes.  She continued to say that this particular episode of Dr. Oz was about thyroid disease and how it can be a silent disease.  He recommended that all viewers go to their doctors.  So she did, even though she had no symptoms of thyroid disease.  She insisted that a blood test and ultrasound be performed.  So they were.  And guess what?  I found a nodule.  Woo-hoo.  Her blood test was normal.  There was nothing wrong.  So how was that helpful for her?
• A patient came in for a pelvic ultrasound.  Guess how she responded when I asked why she was there?  Yep.  Because "Dr. Oz said so".  She had watched an episode about ovarian cancer.  So there she was, getting an ultrasound to look for ovarian cancer, even though her pelvic exam was normal and she had no family history of cancer.  
• The best was one I heard today.  My mom is a nurse in the GI department.  So she talks to patients when they call in with a problem.  Today she got her first "Dr. Oz call".  A patient had just watched a Dr. Oz episode about treating Crohn's disease with...parasites!  Seriously?  So guess how this patients wanted her Crohn's disease treated?  Yep, parasites.  My mom had to tell her that was not something these doctors were comfortable with doing and to contact a teaching hospital, like U of I.  Perhaps they knew more.  

Now, I do believe that Dr. Oz has some good topics.  But let's remember.  He's a talk show host.  He's also a Hollywood doctor.  Would he be a Hollywood talk show host if he talked about yeast infections and heavy periods?  With the rise in health care costs, do we really need to rush to the doctor simply because "Dr. Oz said so"?