THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Prescription for better health

Prescription for better health

Thailand gets its own version of "The Dr Oz Show" with TrueVisions working closely with Siriraj Hospital to ensure the formula is right.

A new health show has arrived on Thai TV and sharp-eyed viewers who have noticed the similarities between “The Dr Oz Thailand by Siriraj” and the popular syndicated American show “The Dr Oz Show” are quite right in assuming that the local version draws heavily on the latter.

TrueVisions had long pondered how to get small screen audiences to watch a health show the whole way through and decided the answer lay in combining game show and talk show and sprinkling in games, information on everything from exercise to nutrition and, perhaps the biggest draws of all, an attractive host and celebrity guests.

That’s not to say that “The Dr Oz Thailand by Siriraj” is a direct copy of its American cousin. Quite the contrary, in fact. Mahidol University's Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital works with the producers every step on the way, with input into both script and presentation, and has even co-opted one of its doctors, obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Sakita Moungmaithong, to host the show.

The original “The Dr Oz Show” is a spin-off from Dr Mehmet Oz’ssregular appearances on talk show queen Oprah Winfrey’s “Oprah” series. Launched in 2009, the Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon and professor hosts the syndicated talk show five days a week. It is just about to start its ninth season and its format has now been sold to 16 countries in five continents.

“The Dr Oz Thailand” was initiated by Attaphon Na Bangxang, chief programme and content officer for TrueVisions Public Company Limited.

“I was seeking good content and wanted to do a show about health that would be fun and also educate people,” he says. He now has 60 episodes in his hand and will continue to produce the show weekly.

Having acquired the format rights, Attaphon tasked Mushroom Production House to produce the show. Mushroom is owned by former actor-turned- TV show host Akarat Nitibhon, who produces a slew of TV programmes for TrueVisions and other channels.

Next came the approach to Siriraj Hospital to collaborate on the show.

Prof Prasit Watanapa, Dean of the Medical Faculty of Siriraj Hospital, says that he had never heard of the show before being approached by TrueVisions. His decision was almost immediate, he says, because Siriraj had been looking into some sort of activity that would educate the public about preventive health issues.

“Thais have traditionally shied away from health shows where doctors discuss disease and healthcare in words they don’t understand. This show is interesting and I think it can attract viewers, especially the new generation, to watch,” he says.

Siriraj provides the ideas, information, script, medical guests and conducts a final check before airing.

“We work carefully on the details and check the tape before it is aired to make sure that there isn’t a single moment where the audience can be misled by the message,” says Dr Prasit.

Key to any show’s success, however, is the host and this programme required not only someone with a strong medical background but also an aptitude for entertainment. That meant a close scrutiny of all the hospital’s departments.

“We looked for a person who was credible because he had the medical qualifications but was also attractive and down to earth … someone with whom viewers could connect,” says Dr Prasit.

Dr Sakita, who is also a clinical instructor in Maternal-Foetal Medicine at the hospital, met the criteria. Better still, despite having no experience in the entertainment industry, he was interested in working for the programme. When he was chosen to be the show host, he set himself to learn more about acting and in this has received a lot of help from his co-host, actress Tikamporn “Cheer” Ritttaapinan.

“I was so nervous and excited in the first show and Cheer’s experience helped me a lot,” Dr Sakita tells XP, adding that he now feels more comfortable but still needs to work harder.

“What worries me the most is making the show more entertaining while ensuring Siriraj’s credibility,” he adds.

“Many people may think that doctors at Siriraj are all from the same mould and that might have been true in the past. Today’s younger doctors are more open and trendy,” says Dr Prasit.

Mushroom founder Akarat adds that producing the show is a real challenge and that he’s glad to have a manual from “The Dr Oz Show”, which contains more than 1,000 pages of guidelines, on tap. Computer graphics and props ideas from the US help too, he says, as they make demonstrations of complicated medical information more visible and easy to understand.

“After Siriraj and our team have agreed on the topic we will present in the show, we can get the CG already created for ‘Dr Oz’,” he says.

Siriraj also ensures that the content is appropriate to the local situation.

“The show must give the right information to Thai people and in an entertaining way. It’s useless if they just watch it for fun. My hope is that audience will be inspired to make their lifestyles healthier and stay away from the hospital. That’s the ultimate goal – to see Thai people taking preventive measures rather than flock to the hospital for treatment,” says Dr Prasit.

What he certainly doesn’t want to see a repeat of the results from earlier TV shows on which doctors were invited to be guest speakers and talk about diseases and treatment. Rather than inspiring viewers to stay healthy, this created fear and hundreds would turn up at the hospitals to check they didn’t have the disease discussed.

“As doctors we have the duty to treat illness and we are willing to do so, but we are not happy to see more people coming to the hospital. We want Thai people to be healthy but this needs to start with them.

“They should take care of themselves, eat healthy food and exercise correctly. I hope that the show will offer useful information that convinces them to do this at home,” says Dr Prasit.

 

  • “The Dr Oz Thailand by Siriraj” airs every Sunday on the True X-zyte channel (340 HD) from 11am to noon.
  • TrueVisions is planning to screen the show at free channel True4U Channel 24 in the near future.
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