Is it really like this?

Question

You might find this a funny question but I would really like a sensible answer

I watch TV and I like a program call "" HOUSE""
Its about a doctor in a hospital who works with a team .
The patient is always in a room on his/her own which is OK I suppose , I have had a private room myself on the NH.
By the way , I am English so what i know about American medicine is gleaned mostly from TV tho I do know that in America you have to pay up front .
the thing is in this program there are always friends and relatives in the room with them , visiting , all the time and these people seem to have the right to question the doc on every point of the treatment their friend is getting and the doc seems to expect to have to explain it .
A patient is having a heart attack or a stroke or vomiting explosively and the doc and/or the nurses have to wade through concerned friends to get to the patient .
I know this would not be allowed in a British hospital so I was wondering ,is it really like

Answer 1

It can be.

Remember, in the case of this particular show, USUALLY the patient has been to the doctors before. Several Doctors, maybe even several hospitals.

You might think of House as an escalation point. Not always, but often.

As to paying upfront, not true. They ask about insurance, but assume you'll pay or the insurance co will pay.

You also didn't mention that when the patient is violently vomiting or whatever, often the doctors will tell the nurses to get the visitor(s) out of the room. This is true.

Answer 2

It can be, yes. Although technically the doctor does not have to involve the family unless the patient is unable to make their own decisions at that time, usually they do because, well, generally patients accept but families sue.