Health care: Cat vs Baby

Hey.

I read a thread on 2o2p that got me thinking. It mentioned overmedication of kids, and how doctors give kids prozac like candy. That got me thinking about my daughter (Erica) and my cat (Guiness) and their respective "doctor's" appoinments.  They are both in good health, they both have no issues, they were both in for a checkup: Erica for her 9mo, Guiness for her yearly.

My doctor is a great guy, let me start with that. On this day he was running late. With a 9 month old, that sucks. Anyway: wait half an hour, get in to see the doctor.  Barely said hello, didn't ask how we were doing, just off to the races. Yep: everything was checked, but some things were amiss.  The growth chart in the file is for a boy, he keeps saying he needs to get a new one (never happens).  I always feel rushed. I'm a first time Mom, and I have questions and concerns. They are probably nothing, but I would like to be heard.  On the other hand, there are some things I like about him: I asked about Vitamin D: instead of pretending he knows everything, he looks it up. He also remembered "something about fish and eggs." and shuffled through his journal, and there was an article by a pediatric allergist on introducing fish and eggs to wee babies.   I like that he goes to the source and not just from what he can remember.

Now for the Vet appointment. Dr. Keith asked about me first, and then about Erica. He wanted to know how the family was doing. Then he asked about Erica and Guiness and how they were getting along. He remembered that Guiness had a toy vet that looked like him.  My doctor can't remember which is Erica, me or the baby. Looked Guinnie up and down, checked her teeth. Guiness has teeth problems and we discussed a cleaning etc.  Also discussed giving Guin a deworming medication, cause even though she's an indoor cat there is new info saying that this may be good, esp. with new baby.  It was a much longer appoinment that addressed the whole family.

The difference between  the two: I pay a frickin sweet penny to take my cat to the vet, the doctor is public health care.  There is a debate in Canada: should we introduce some private health care. No one would go without, you would be able to "pay" the doctor with your health card, nothing out of pocket. 

So: What is the health care system like in the US? When you pay to go to the doctor, do you get good service?