ER and Scrubs get positive comments, while House, M.D. gets almost universally panned.

MedPage Today performed a survey showing that 90 percent of respondents felt that medical shows on television impacted the doctor-patient relationship.

It’s interesting to read the almost universal condemnation of Fox’s House, M.D., saying that the show “gives a very bad name to physicians and the medical profession,” and that, “House is the worst on all levels.”

One benefit is that the shows have tremendous power to educate the public, with tens of millions viewers each week. One recent example is the use of the surgical checklist on a pivotal episode of ER.

Medical television shows have come a long way since Marcus Welby, and like them or not, continue to wield significant influence with both patients and their relationships with physicians.