Return of the house call

It doesn't take an advanced degree to figure out that many Americans have better access to TV than to health care.

But a team of four M.D.s is trying to make the most of the troubling situation.

A new show from the producers of "Dr. Phil" aims to help solve the health mysteries plaguing the minds of America through the powerful medium of daytime television.

"The Doctors" features four of Dr. Phil's medical experts -- an ER physician, an obstetrician/gynecologist, a reconstructive and plastic surgeon, and a pediatrician -- and shows the treatment of patients who have submitted their stories and questions through the show's website (www.thedoctorstv.com).

Patients are treated on and off set in televised procedures, and viewers follow the stories into hospitals and homes.

According to executive producer Carla Pennington, the spinoff show was created as a response to the high number of health-related questions submitted to the "Dr. Phil" website. Those concerns, she said, sparked the idea of using daytime television to communicate much-needed answers.

The doctors come from a range of backgrounds, enabling the show to deal with a broad spectrum of health issues -- from weight loss to tanning addiction. Interactive discussions also cover general elements of the health-care system, including the effect of increasing patient volume on U.S. doctors.

Masterson, who has offices in Santa Monica, Calif., and at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said the show's format allows the doctors to establish that in-depth relationship with featured patients, while simultaneously speaking to a wider audience.

Co-host Dr. Travis Stork, an ER physician and former contender on the ABC reality show "The Bachelor," said television is the perfect medium to provide medical advice on a much larger scale.

"We're not trying to replace anyone's personal physician," he said. "But the reality we all have to face is that people get a lot of their medical information from television."

Stork, who comes from Nashville, said medical dramas have added an element of entertainment to the health industry at the cost of accuracy. But true life, he said, can be just as compelling.

"I can tell you from my own experiences as a physician in the ER that real-life stories are gripping and intriguing," he said. "Through those stories, we can inform people."

Producing a show that deals with common medical concerns is, therefore, an important public service, they say.

"There's always somebody who wants to come on TV, but who we really help is the millions of people watching that are too embarrassed," said co-host and pediatrician Dr. James Sears, who practices in Capistrano Beach, Calif. "They will at least understand how important that problem may or may not be. Then, hopefully, they will go to their own doctor to ask the questions."

The doctors agree that nothing can compete with one-on-one care. But for those Americans without access, they hope the show will provide some essential insight.

"What I think this show will try to do is give people the comfort they are lacking," Pennington said. "It will calm some fears for people who are lost and not sure how to respond to medicine and not sure how to talk to a doctor or a hospital."