Evening star., 1896-02-08
THE DOCTORS GRIEVANCES.

Troubles That the Specialist Makes
for the General Practitioner.
From the New York Sum-
physician with a large general prac-
tice telling of the drawbacks the general
practitioner had to put up with. said:
"One reason why so many young doctors
take up a speciality and refuse general
work is that the specialist can earn four
| times the fee of general practitioner,
and he gets it There is no waiting for his
money The general practitioner works
twice as hard for his one-fourth, and he
has to wait until his patient gets ready to
pay him. physician, unlike any other
professional man, cannot demand spot
cash. don't mean that exactly, but If he
should demand it, he would be regarded as
brute. He cannot refuse to answer any
| sort OF a call that is made on him, his fee
Is comparatively small, and it's a problem
whether he gets it at all.
Il am not speaking now of families that
are poor and cannot afford to pay doctors
They are the best pay. If the money is in
| the house they pay on the spot It's the
| middle class that 1 refer to. That class is
made up of persons who can pay but from
one cause or another. neglect to pay, or
can afford to pay good fee and insist on
paying only small one. If there is a Sc
rious illness they ask the doctor If they
had not better have a specialist visit them
Ihe doctor, as rule, tells them it is not
absolutely necessary. but il they would
feel more comfortable after the visit of a
specialist it might be well to have one So
they get specialist, who comes to the
house and looks wise. He makes a thor
oush examination. and 30 times out OF 100
he says that the regular physician is Civ
Ing the proper treatment II he has any
suggestions to make they are minor ones.
The family ask the fee.
THE specialist says $50. s75 or 500, or
perhaps a great deal more IL the house
looks as II the people could stand the
charge. The money is paid on the SPOT
The regular doctor continues to treat the
case The patient recovers. His bill is
perhaps less than the single fee of the
specialist, but the patient kicks about it,
He thinks doctors are robbers, and all
that But he never regrets the fee of tine
specialist, and in a great many cases he
actually believes that If the specialist
hadn't visited him he would have died.
The regular practitioner gets no credit.
The average man takes a certain pride in
being sick enough to have specialist visit
him The average woman takes more. She
talks about it afterward: oh. 1 had DR..
So-and-So, the great specialist in this, that,
| or the other disease
Just few hours ago I was called to at
tend a case. and the first thing L heard
was: We had DR.. -, the great special
| ist, when he was sick before 1 treated
| the patient, and a miserable little fee less
| even than the regular fee, was rendered
| 1 said: How much did DR.. - charge
your 'Seventy-five dollars was the reply.
1 would not have asked the question, nor
would I have said anything further had I
| not known that the head of the family was
prosperous, and could well afford to pay
| ten or twenty times the fee he rendered
me. said to him: Very well, sir; when
there is any more sickness in your family
you must send for DR.. and pay him
| $75 If you send for me I shall refuse to
! come for any such fee as this The man
| felt insulted.
| Il don't want to say anything that could
| be construed as an assault on specialists.
| know their value, and have the greatest
| respect for them, but there is certainly a
| reform necessary in the patients the aver
age general practitioner Is called on to at
tend"