"Are we going to suddenly raise people's expectations?... You do worry about that. People see this and there's a question in their mind, 'well are there people like that that we could find... is there a House that could fix me?'"

Sandra Buffington, director of the University of Southern California's Hollywood, Health and Society program, argues that the power of medical dramas is one should that can be harnessed to educate.

Her program receives funding from the US government's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help television writers develop accurate health stories.

"When the drama is compelling, the viewer is completely transported," Buffington said.

"They forget their surroundings, they're completely in the story, they see the characters as family and friends, almost as loved ones.... They are much more receptive and open to learning."

Buffington's program has worked with shows including 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'ER', but had one of its greatest successes with a storyline about an HIV-positive character on the daytime soap opera 'The Bold and Beautiful' that featured information about an HIV/Aids information hotline.

"The highest peak in callers all year was, we got 5313 calls in a single day, was the day that Tony told his fiancee Kristen that he was HIV positive."

Buffington acknowledges that the "huge" impact of medical dramas is just as powerful, even when storylines are unrealistic or just plain wrong.

"That's why we're in business, because so much of this information is inaccurate or may be outdated."

For Holtz, the most misleading health information on television comes not from medical dramas, but advertisements for prescription medications.

"Television ads are some of the most crisp and concise storytelling that exists," he said.

"They tell this story that if you come, if you get our product, you will have a life that's full of sunshine and butterflies and romps in the grass. It's just purely fantasy."