And there's the problem. Everything is about money. The treatment you get, the time they spend with you, how they act... it's all about money. Insurance companies (the one I work for isn't this bad - but it used to be) gives guidelines on what can and can not be done for their members based on cost and most of the time cost alone. Doctors spend less time with you because the more patients they see the bigger their check is at the end of the day. Tests that need to be run aren't because the patient may or may not be able to pay - or their insurance company will balk at having to pay the bill.
Speaking of insurance companies... Doctors who enter into a contract with them are paid very little for what they do. An office visit that someone without insurance would pay $200.00 for is only paid about $80.00 by the insurance. American Medicare is the worst. The government only pays about $3.00 for most labs - some of which actually cost the labs $1,000.00 just to perform (that's supplies, labor, time, electricity etc.). I see it all day every day. Is it any wonder why a doctor won't spend more time with a patient when they won't get paid for it? I'm not defending them - when they took their oath they swore to service their patients even if they weren't paid for it - but they still have bills to pay. Granted that 46" Plasma TV they have their eyes on isn't a bill, but it's part of the American dream to have things that are better than the neighbors.
It's funny - I knew quite a few medical students while I was in college and most of them went into the field because they wanted to help people - very few were in it for the money... that changed as they went through their internship.
Question: How much is a human life worth to these people?