People are so indoctrinated they for some reason actually think most doctors want to help them. I assume they also trust their dealerships service advisor.
Yourself, family, friends, favourite waitress cares about you more than your doctor.
I'd say about half want to help, but can not due to the system. The other half enjoy maximizing their income through the system and don't care either. So that leaves very very few that are actually able and willing to actually help an average person.
Now, do they help their family and close friends? Yes, as much as they still care to and remember how to. Which isn't at a very high level either IMO.
Recent example, my friend dislocated his shoulder. Immediately was recommended to have surgery and attempts were made to schedule. With his insurance, he'd have to come out of pocket $7500, which he doesn't really have.
I told him I know many motorcyclists at the pro level that dislocate shoulders in crashes, and without surgery are back competing on the bike. Only a handful have surgery to repair it, usually to stop it from reoccurring (since they crash often).
He pressed his doctor on if he really needs the surgery and for an explanation why many athletes don't have it done and what the reasoning for auto recommending him to get it done. Their tone instantly shifted and he chose to wait it out. Shoulder back to normal now. Thousands saved, and potential medical mistakes saved during the surgery.
> and without surgery are back competing on the bike.
My bet is that they are on painkillers for life
Also, they are professional athletes at the peak of their bodies' physical fitness capacity with teams of doctors, physical therapists, and trainers looking after their health with a focus that few of us can imagine, and an overriding ethos of sacrificing their future health on the altar of present performance.
In general, professional athletes' healthcare decisions should probably not be used as a gauge for healthcare decisions by people with priorities other than "maximal physical performance right this moment".
which is a good general rule to go by - surgery is not without dangers.
The doctor's role, imho, is to firstly explain all of the available options (pros, cons, etc).
Once the patient understands all of the options, the doctor can recommend one of them, and explain why the option is good. The patient needs to evaluate the other options as well, and think about whether the doctor's recommendation is sound, and what assumptions they might've made (may be unknowingly).
The patient is not, and should not be, a passive party to medical treatment.
The thinking is a lot of people dislocate their shoulder, it pops back in with or without help and heals with no long-term damage. For a lot of patients it never happens again and surgery is not needed.
However, each time you dislocate your shoulder it gets easier to dislocate and is more likely to do doing damage that won't heal. So, don't go in for shoulder surgery until you are showing a pattern of dislocating it or have other lasting damage that requires repair.