Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-05-18
PHYSICIANS FEES.
Ability and Faithfulness VS.. Bread
Pill Quackery,


What may the physician reasonably
demand for his services, says the Sci.
entihc American, Is n question that he
and his patient are not always agreed
on; and there being, unhapplly, no fixed
charge FOR medical attendance In this
country, the physician, naturally
enough, strives to obtain as much rs
he can. Unless a contract is made
before. the services are rendered
rarely the case in the
treatment of irregular patients "A
physician can make any estimate he
likes as to the value OF his services,
and the courts are continually being
asked TO examine into phyaicians'
charges. The fact that the juries rare
ly sanction these charges would indi-
cate that they are apt TO be extortion-
ate.
In q recent paper in the Medical
Record on "How Much Shall the Doc.
tor be Paid?n writer lays down some
really excellent rules for deciding
upon the value of medical services.
He says:
sin considering the question OF the
amount of compensation due the
physician or surgeon for his profess
preliminary points which require an
answer favorable 10 The practitioner.
There must be no doubt as to the fact
OF the services being faithfully and
skillfully rendered, and the charge Of
malpractice must not be raised against
him. II there Is question as 10 the
skillfulness of the treatment, the CONF
pensation may be seriously cut down;
or II an improper or harmful mode OF
treatment has been adopted, the right
| to any compensation at all may be de-
MED, and the patient allowed TO recover
| damages instead.n
This is fair as far as IL goes, and II
| the writer had laid down rule for
deciding what medical services are
worth when successful, and Just how
much the doctor should hand over to
| his patient as compensation for rem
| dering his case more desp crate than 1t
was when ne began his ministrations,
nothing would be wanting to make IL
as easy to deal with a physician or
surgeon as il Is with "A mason or q
brass flnisher. A physician, for in
stance, who poisoned his patients
while experimenting with new
| qualities of vaccine virus,
| instead Of charging them for
| the medical attendance necessary to
insure their recovery, should pay to
each fair compensation for loss OF
health, etc. AS TO what u a physician
should be paid wht n successful in his
treatment could readily be determined,
were 1t not for the fact that the un.
skillful are inclined to regard their
services as OF the highest market value.
The fact is that, although in no profea.
sion is there to be found more ability
and faithfulness to duty than In
the medical, there is at the
same time no profession In which
quackery can ride rampant with such
impunity. The physician who lives
In great house and rides about in
state has no trouble in obtaining large
fees for his services, even though
these consist for the most part In feed
ing bread pills 10 old ladies and patent
medicine to old gentlemen with the
govt, whereas the obscure man, often
OF really commanding ability, often
finds difficulty in obtaining email
fees for skillfully performed opera
lions.
Dickens, careful observer OF char
aeter, understood this credulity of the
public. His Mr.. Bob Sawyer built up
u furnishing apothecary business by
sending his boy around TO leave pre-
scrlptions at difIeren. houses and then
calling later TO explain the mistakes.
This gave the impression that he was
doing large business and was, there
fore, fashionable, II not skillful,
coinpounder.