TV Doc's Credentials Questioned

Dr. Robert Jarvik was the face of the cholesterol drug Lipitor's reported $258 million advertising campaign. Only, he's not exactly credentialed to practice medicine. So now, he won't even be playing a doctor on TV.

On February 25, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) announced the end of Lipitor ads featuring Dr. Jarvik, citing that the ads led to “misimpression.” While the Jarvik artificial heart inventor does have a medical degree, he never completed the certification requirements of doing an internship and hasn’t actually practiced medicine. “I would expect the product Lipitor and Pfizer to now lose credibility,” says Chris Dugger, the director of operation at InfoCheckUSA, a web-based background check service in Jacksonville, Fla. “I would also expect it to cost them sales in the hundreds of thousands if not more.”

Jarvik is not the first television personality to have liberties taken with his medical title. (TV therapist Dr. Phil McGraw, is a Ph.D., but is not licensed to practice psychology anywhere.) Unfortunately, misleading medical experts are not only found on television. Falling victim to medical fraud can happen in real life, too. Whether you are facing a long-term illness, or are just in need of a check-up, most patients rely on insurance companies to screen their doctors. “Your insurance company has a list of approved doctors approved by them and in the network,” says Dugger. “That doesn’t mean they are completely OK.”

That process should continue, experts say, with a doctor-background check. “You don’t just drive down the street and see a medical shield and stop in,” says Dugger. “If you are having major surgery definitely check [the doctor] out. Make sure they haven’t been involved in fraudulent charges or have a suspended license. Lots of doctors are performing with suspended licenses.”