Genuinely surprised so many people with mild or no symptoms even seek hospital care

In Germany generally you go to your GP before being forwarded to a hospital, just walking to the emergency ward is strongly discouraged.

I've always wondered about these scenes on House where the hospital rooms are full of people with the cold, is that really common? Personally I've always really tried to avoid the hospital unless strictly necessary if only because I was kind of afraid of catching something that's worse than what I came in for.