Is there a doctor in the House?

West Haven author Andrew Holtz takes a look at the realities and misconceptions of the hit television show ‘House’

By Elena Boryczka

The Beaverton Valley Times, Nov 30, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Thanks to Andrew Holtz and his book “The Medical Science of House, M.D.,” fans of the television show will be able to find out where the writers sometimes take liberties with reality. The book also gives insight into the oftentimes confusing medical world.

JONATHAN HOUSE / THE TIMES

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You, along with millions of other viewers, tune in each week to watch Hugh Laurie transform into the finicky and amazingly wise Dr. Gregory House.

You’ve seen him help a patient with the rare African sleeping sickness, wake a man from a 10-year coma and diagnose a nun who was allergic to some copper that had been implanted inside her body years before. But you’ve got to wonder, could this ever happen in real life?

“My basic conclusion is the medicine in the show is possible, even if highly improbable,” said Andrew Holtz, a West Haven-based author who penned “The Medical Science of House, M.D.” “I was somewhat surprised. The show has some bizarre cases, so I went into it thinking (it was fantasy), but then I would do research and find that, oh, it has happened.”

In his book, released this past October, Holtz examines the television show “House” from a medical standpoint and addresses a number of issues he believes are relevant to everyone who uses the medical system.

Some of the topics include what goes on in the physical exam, the tests used to come to a conclusion and the importance of bedside manner. He also writes a lot about the sometimes complicated medical world, including the hospital culture and the rules those in it must follow. This gives readers a better idea of how the medical system works, thus making them more prepared when it comes time to deal with it.

Holtz said the book is not a “blow-by-blow description of what’s on the show; it’s more using the show as a starting off point.”

“For fans, I think it answers that question about how realistic is the show. For everyone else, I think it’s a way of getting to some important issues,” he said. “People need to know how our health care system works. It is approaching 20 percent of our economy . . . and we all use it all the time, and yet people are not really educated about how the system works. I hope this book offers some basic information about what is possible, what is not possible.”

Holtz said he got involved with this writing project when an agent for a publisher asked if he would be interested in writing a book on how realistic the television show is. With more than 20 years experience covering health issues, including 10 years as a medical correspondent for CNN, he was a natural choice for such a project. The only catch? He had never really watched the show.

“I’m not generally a big fan of watching medical-themed television shows because I’ve been working in this area for so long, I have a harder time suspending my disbelief,” he said. “So I tend not to watch these shows. As a work assignment, (“House”) was fascinating to dig into.”

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