I've heard the same things, but they don't match the facts I've observed and read about:
> it's highly professional ...
I disagree. Hospital errors are a leading cause of death in the U.S., and outcomes vary significantly by zip code - in large part, AFAIK, because doctors don't follow standards of care. Getting them to wash their hands between patients to prevent the spread of infection was (is?) a problem. The opiod epidemic is partly due to doctors over-prescribing the drugs, even when everyone knew about the problems. AFAIK they still overprescribe anti-biotics, even though everyone knows it's creating more drug-resistant threats.
The experiences of myself and people I know in U.S. hospitals and is horrible; it's a punchline. People are forgotten and wait for hours in ERs and hospitals. Nurses bring the wrong drugs, and wake people up all night.
Doctors and nurses treat patients with utter disrespect. They don't listen at all, they are condescending and rude, and treat patients like their enemies. One person I know showed up for his doctor appointment and could barely find a seat in the waiting room. The doctor had scheduled the whole day's appointments at the same time and expected everyone to just wait - their SOP - including a woman in a wheelchair with a respirator who sat their for hours.
And let's not forget doctors like Larry Nasser, the one who sexually abused all those teen girl athletes. His boss at Michigan State University, a dean, gave a speech defending Nasser to other professionals: He said 'you forgot the first rule, never trust patients'. I can't tell you how many Nassers there are, but the dean seems to think that's a widely accepted belief and it matches my observations.
> responsive
> When you need something, they do it. In most socialized systems, you wait, and, you may get the commodity version.
That doesn't describe the experience of anyone I know, even very wealthy, connected people that I know. Everyone waits; specialists schedule people months ahead of time. Then that doctor tells you to see someone else, and you wait a month or more, then the test, then another wait, then another test ...
One person I know had crippling back pain, to the point they were talking about death. They contacted the hospital for an appointment and were told to wait a week. They begged and pleaded, daily, for someone to prescribe just painkillers so the patient could make it through the week; the hospital simply didn't care and refused - no painkillers because it would interfere with the examination in a week. I can't imagine what the patient went through.
Another person, a 60ish woman, broker her wrist with partial displacement. She had to go to several doctors to find someone to set it - they all told her, 'you don't use it much anyway'.