The term VIP syndrome is thought to have been coined in 1964 when Maryland psychiatrist Walter Weintraub reported that his hospital had been thrown into turmoil as staff there struggled to respond to the relentless demands of influential patients and their relatives.
Additionally, they have a desire to avoid public scrutiny in matters of private medical care, as all patients do, and may demand special accommodations on this basis.
Physicians and hospitals may relish the extra revenue accruing from the treatment of VIP patients, sometimes in the form of lavish donations, and so may accommodate them accordingly.
Often characterized by walnut-paneled rooms and high-thread-count bed sheets, VIP accommodations at large hospitals have traditionally inspired special, sometimes sarcastic, nicknames such as "the Gold Coast" and "Millionaires' Row".
At the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, new policy states that personal gifts to staff in excess of $25 value cannot be accepted and must be forwarded to the development office.