I'm in the UK and have an excellent doctor who has treated the whole family for about 18 years now. Although in the past copule of years it has started to take a couple of days before we could see her, previously she would just extend her working day to see anyone who needed her and even now with the appointment system she will take as much time as you want.

However, in the last month three members of my family have been referred by her to the local Hospital.

* I had severe, sharp chest pains: they did ECGs and tested me for a major lung clot, but they couldn't find anything so sent me away without further medication or treatment

* My daughter has had a strange pain in the left side of her waist. After urine tests and examination they couldn't find anything so they sent her away without any further medication

* My son's had a knee problem: an MRI scan didn't show any problem so they can't find anything either - but at least he is getting physio.

In each case, the approach seems to be that if the tests don't reveal a problem then there is no problem, even is we are still in pain. One of us might be a hypercondriac but three of us seems a bit unlikely!

Even so, I'd still always go for doctors than folk-based medicines. As Kipling put it

Wonderful little, when all is said
Wonderful little out father's knew:
Half of their remedies cured you dead
And most of their teachings were quite untrue
Look to the stars, when you patient is ill
For dirt has nothing to do with disease
Bleed and blister as much as you will
Blister and bleed him as oft as you please
Whence enormous and manifold
Errors were made by our fathers of old