An article in the British Medical Journal accuses him of medical paternalism.
Calling Dr. House (via ScienceRoll) a “paradigm of a paternalistic physician,” who, “repeatedly disregards their wishes in order to diagnose and treat their illnesses,” Mark Wicclair of the University of Pittsburgh wonders why, at a time where American patients value autonomy, so many love the crusty, oft poor-mannered, doctor?
Too bad the full article is hidden behind a firewall, but Dr. Wiccalir argues “that the positive depiction of medical paternalism in the fictional world of the series does not apply in the real world.”
Safe to say, if there were real Dr. Houses roaming American hospitals, patient response may be decidedly more mixed.
