VIP treatment means a private room and doctors who personally really actually pay attention to your treatment because the administrator has reminded them to do that, or your friend from med school/business school has asked them to do that. It is not conferred by a blanket.
BTW there is a carrot and a stick going on. Yes, the hospital admin wants to make VIP patients happy for donations, but they also want to avoid making the patient unhappy because they have resources to sue, and win. All of this is highly motivational.
I don't really think the Mr/Mrs Moneybags "VIP patient" compares remotely to a board-certified member of La Cosa Nostra Medical Mafia with an iphone full of colleagues and professional acquaintances with a friend-of-an-attending across all specialties
When you are a doctor, you're part of the club. Skipping the line and getting a consult in 30 seconds? Well, that is 15 seconds too long. Got a laceration on your child, and want a 3 layer closure by the head of Plastics? No issue there. Want to convene a board on your rare medical issue? Well, there is a doctors only Facebook group for that, with about 500 docs ready to chime in on their breaks.
It goes way behind this too. Indepth knowledge and advice about who the actual locally best doctors and surgeons are, across specialties (not the popularity contest or bought magazine ones either). Early tracks on new promising studies. Handouts of non-scrip medical supplies like event swag. Pharma-reps wanting to market their novel products and spread the info on them. The amount of free stuff is off the charts.
I've seen exponentially more over the top professional courtesy "Good Old Docs" club from my Dr. wife and the associated professional network, than I have in any other profession by far.
BTW there is a carrot and a stick going on. Yes, the hospital admin wants to make VIP patients happy for donations, but they also want to avoid making the patient unhappy because they have resources to sue, and win. All of this is highly motivational.