The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-26
7HE DOCTOR,y BILLS.
A Man Whose business II Is to Make Pa
tients Pay Promptly.

CHICAGO. Nov. 25 There W az nothing remark
able about the appearance Of the man Never
theless one OF the party felt himself called upon
TO say that he probably had tho most curious lob
Of any body in the city. He's business IN an agcr
for doctors" he explained
There's nothing new in that" IVES the rc,ort
OF another member OF the party" know q nun
Der OF physicians and dentists who pay certain
sum each month TO have their bills rIadc out
The man 50 employed goes 10 their Offices for
day or two, WHITES up their books makes out their
bills and mails them. Sometimes three or four
doctors having Offices in the same building will
employ one man among them for this purpose.
Members OF these Professions are noto.iouSly poor
business men and sor1e Of them lose about half
they make owing TO that fact"
But this man. persisted the first SPEAKER does
even more than that lie has taken I'D that
idea and carried II TO its logical conclusion lie
has an Office Of his own. and all bills are PAYABLE
at that Office. He takes the books Of his clients
to his own oicc. makes out the bills and collects
tho money. OF course lie has to he q man Of
standing. in whom the professional mcn ne serves
place confidence. but he is all Of that and he does
Just tho work q physician needs TO have done
For some reason a Doctors bill il the very las,
one that most men pay, The average citizen
will pay his grocer or his butcher or any other
uadesmen with reasonable pronp;ncss bu, will
let his doctor wait don't know why this should
be so. but is Perhaps il is due 10 the fact that
the doctor has been in the habit Of letting his bills
run. de sends them out. but he doe Sil Z follow
them up. II bill sent out by a business house
doesn't receive attention within a rcHsonabls
time duplicate is mailcl end i that is ignored
q collector calls on the debtor to remind
him that II Ia time to pay up. That is regarded
as business and no exception Is taken toit II TIC
he knows he can avoid IL by paying the hill when
he frs, receives IT, The doctors account how,
nvei does not E receive I any such attention ordi
TO look after his financial affairs himself /, may
be two Or even three months after the services
cate statement is msilci And by that time /,
unless put into the hands Of lawyer. It's The old
bill that one doesn't like TO pay. Every business
man realizes that
simply conducts the financial part Of the doctors
business ON business principles He does lust
The s BIZ oo@ed by aao aS ana and no n ,b.;
receives no attention he goes out as a collector
sbs mess ns " thu 5sd IN But he
sn@ 1G'9wea w sason1be
paid promptly for after all the doctors are ia1geIs
les phsI Gr sheiI own trouble in getting pay
yer and he never sues for the money lie does
no pSsS as bad deb! collector, neye, writes
tactics Yet. as l say, he has been most sue
cesSiul. and has proved himself worth far more
70 his clients than they have 10 pay for having
their busi ness affairs methodicaly conducted
Alter he IL through. y he has failed To get tho
money, II rests With the doctor TO decide Whether
he wants the bill put into the hands Of a LAWYER
and he has the further satisfaction OF finding out
IN much shorter time Than ever before lust what
bad debts he has on his bOoka ~
, Oi course every doctor has some charity pa.
TENTS and some Others that. for one reason or
another. he does not want pressed. and these are
on the books when they arc turned
over to the professional business manager The
doctor sun controls his own business but he has
have been neglected previously are now receiving
the same attention that they would In a large