How did North American doctors baggsy all the power, compared to here?

[hmmunkermunker]

In Canada, to have a baby, you see an obstetritian. When you have the baby, you make sure they have a pediatrician. And if something goes wrong with your eyes, you see an opthalmologist (just for regular check ups, even).

In the UK, you use midwives, GPs, and a opticians. I can see advantages to the British system, certainly - but I don't understand why things are this way here?

Oh arse, goofy name. Am NQC. I swear.

Doctors in America tend to specialise more than here, as far as I know. It also has something to do with the health insurance system there.

I'm from Canada - we don't have health insurance, we have something that's rather a lot like the NHS. But the doctors have still baggsied most of the power. I had a pediatrician, growing up.

I guess there are two different things here - medics in North America doing things that are done by non-medics here, and the existance of GPs, which don't really exist that much in Canada.

I think the medics doing non-medic work is down to the history of medicine in each country, probably ...