The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1898-01-21
DOCTORS BILLS.
A New York Company That Collects
Money Owed by Patients.

New York Company That Collects
Money Owed by Patients.
1.-THE incorporation of a company to
collect the bills due to physicians, SAID
q doctor, els another step that shows
the remarkable change which has been
gradually taking place in the business
methods of the profession. Who would
have thought 20 years ago, or for that
matter 10 years ago, of physicians
collection company, which should have
for it's object to collect by suit ana
otherwise debts and obligations due and
owing to physicians and other persons
and to distribute among physicians ana
other persons from time to time record
of the financial condition Of other per-
sons and also to distribute among ply
sicians and other persons records snow
ing the promptness and readiness OF
phvsicians' clients and other persons to
nav their debts and obligations due and
owing to physicians for services and
also for all other like purposes OF the
same general character. A physician
of reputation in New York 20 years ago
would have been astonished at the pro-
posal of a company to do any such busl-
ness, for in those days it was customary
for doctor to be satisfied with only a
certain share of the money that was
owing to him. 1t used to be said that
the doctor who was able to collect hall
of what was owing to him was fortunate
beyond the usual experience OF his pro-
fession.
"But that state of affairs has been
changing every year, and physicians
have come to look upon their compensa-
tion and the collection of the amounts
owing to them with the same keen busl-
ness sense that men i'll other occupations
do, and the old idea of being satisfied
with only a certain proportion has long
since passed away. The doctor wants all
that he asks for his services just as any
other business man does. The recently
fonncd company marks the final step III
the changed methods of doctors business
wavs [ should think that one result OF
it might be a decrease in prices. Ihe
rate of physician S charges was usual
" Gased on the anticipation Of difficulty
and delay in collecting the bills ano
with an allowance for that percentage
which might not be collected at all.
With such thorough means OF collection
as the new company contemplates there
will be less money lost, less delay about
collecting it, and the condition OF the
doctor will be improved altogether III
business way.
1.-The present complaints against the
dispensaries, which, the doctors say, are
inluring them, afford another reason
for decrease in doctors rates. Only
the other day heard young physl
clan complaining of the difficulties
which a beginner met through the fret
treatment to be had at the dispensaries
l heard the other day that one Of thu
city hospitals had not published an!
statement of it's income for several year
because it's profits through the dispen
sary practice had been so large that l
would certainly have attracted atten
ton. That question of the dispensarle
faces every young doctor today, and l
seems to me that more aggressive meth
DDS in collecting bills from their pa
tients may contribute to the dlsadvan
tageous favor in which dispensarle
have come to be held, or lead to re
duction in the rate of physicians
charges. New York Sun.