The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-12-14

DOCTORS
Neglect OF Government
Physicians.
THEY WILL Be SHAKEN Up
They Draw Their Salaries But Fad
10 Record tho Statistics
Of the Work.

Radical reforms are proposed in tho
methods now pursued " Gotermaeht
physicians in making reports OF thei5
districts to The La d OF Health. rms
proposed reform was intended t. be
discussed at each meeting Tor the last
two or three weeks, but other mat
tiers which needed prompt action in
te.vened and the question has lcen
continued from week to week.
That the reports of Government
physicians are incomplete can be seen
at a glance at the monthly and G,.ar-
terly reports which are sent intn the
head Office of the Health Department
with the utmost disregard for regu-
larity.
Vital statistics OF the health OF rea-
idents on the other Islands, or, In fact,
of any district outside the limits OF
the City of Honolulu, are not obtain
able at the Board of Health office.
This Is largely due to the negligence
of certain of the Government physi-
clans, whose duties include the
making up of reports as we'll as the
treating Of the poor, and Is partly due
to the very poor system of blanks for
that purpose.
The monthly and quarterly reports
do not fit one another. The monthly
report consist of spaces for the names
of the persons treated, the number OF
Office and the number Of house visits,
but gives no clue as to the nature OF
the disease from which each ono la
suffering.
At the end of every three months
the Government physician is suppos-
ed to group his monthly reports into
the quarterly report. The latter has
no space for the names OF Mary Jones
and John jenkins, whom no one at
the Board of Health knows anything
about, but there are spaces to show
that the physician treated for typhoid
fever, for example, 80 persona. Of
whom recovered and died; whoop-
ing cough, 6 treated, 6 recovered
DIR. Pratt, Executive Officer OF the
Board of Health, says that the month
ly reports coming in as they do, do
not give the slightest clue to the in
crease or decrease of any special dis
ease in district. Tuberculosis
might be increasing at an alarming
rate in district, yet the monthly re-
port would give no evidence of it The
names count for nothing as to statis-
tics, and should not and need NOT be
used in the making up of a report of
this nature.
ii the monthly reports contained
statistics bearing on the p eva .ence of
certain diseases which might under
IL. nj IA
alarming manner the Board of Health
in Honolulu could take steps to com
bat them. At present such an Increase
would only be known every three
months.
The methods now in vogue" said
Dr. Pratt yesterday, care obse etc to
certain extent and need thorough re-
vision. The statistics obtainable from
the reports of government physicians
are ridiculously meager. | intend to
ask the board to have committee
appointed to take this matter in hand
and see If something radically differ
ent cannot be gotten up and the gov
eminent physician be made to furnish
particulars of the health in their dis
tricts in these blanks, so that we can
obtain some idea OF the existing con-
ditlons there.
The dilatoriness OF the government
physicians will be discussed at the
next meeting of the board Few of the
twenty odd government physicians
who receive salaries ranging from $50
to 1925 a month for looking after sick
people who cannot afford to pay fee
to private practicing physician, are
making their reports with the regu-
larity required of them. For several
years this state of affairs has existed
with the result that the health board
has not complete record OF health
statistics from any part Of the Island
group with the exception of Honolulu.
Even Honolulu was behind the times
in this respect and reforms here were
inaugurated under the presidency of
Dr. Wood on lines similar to those
adopted by the New York health
board
1t is said that some physicians have
not sent in their reports for six
months at a time. 1t is expected that
a general shaking up OF government
physicians will take place at the next
meeting of the board.
tt