>If we get a cold and need time off we need to visit a GP, this is rent seeking that could easily be handled by a non doctor for half the price.

I'm not sure where you work, but I have never needed a doctor's note to get off work for a simple cold. That's a company policy issue, not the fault of the medical industry.

As I said, a lot of the front-line work is now handled by NPs and PAs. There are still physicians in primary care, but they spend much of their time handling the more complicated patients.