The sun., 1908-06-14
MAKING THE PATENT PAY UP
DEVICES or THE DOCTOR TO
AVOID BAD DEBTS.

quent Cured by Being Left Unul the
Last OF the WAITING Line-Other ways.
Physicians always seek TO get rid Of the
non-paying patients, Of which there Ia
nearly always g, certain number in the
practice Of every doctor. 1t In no longer
considered beneath his professional dignity
for a doctor to subscribe to a company
that makes a specially Of collecting the
bills OF physicians and there are indeed
number who now expect to be paid in ad-
vance. That Ia the happy state which
every doctor longs to reach.
sThe time has passed. a New York
doctor snid to The SUN reporter when
tho doctor was Of all the professional mon
tho one that was least expected to be paid.
There was supposed to be some sort OF
fduoiary relation between doctor and pa
tient that extended also to the matter Of
paying ths bills That prevails to a certain
extent still, but lesa In New York than in
the smaller towns.
Here In New York there has long since
ceased to be any false delcacy about the
matter. Doctors get their bills paid about
as promptly az anybody else. Some OF
the most persistent collectors in New York
who have high reputation among their
colleagues are employed In chasing the
debtors Of the doctors. Then they have
also ceased to have bad debts to the extent
that they used to in the past
The present businesslike thoroughness
OF the medical profession in keeping the
patients on the jump is preceded by still
better preoaution against losing money.
Doctors see to 1t that they do not attend
persons who are slow to pay up. Some OF
them make various rules to regulate this
question. One never goes to patient after
bill has run more than three months.
Another will not treat a former patient
who owes him more than SIS, singular
sum at which he arrived after some system
OF reasoning satisfactory to him.
1T must be pretty resourceless man
that cannot get rid Of patient who is get
ting the best of him." said young doctor
who had just gone into practice, Aand one
Of the first pieces Of advice that doctor
friend of mine gave me was on this point.
He told me that he had been embarrassed
during all bis career by not having the
nerve to treat in tho right way the patients
who could pay him but did not. He told me
to begin at the outset and have a cash
practice
That young man, with his extremely
businesslike ideas. has less patients than
anybody ever supposed he would have after
several years OF practice. He had good
start, but the number Of bis patients con-
tinues small. although he has taken every
precaution he could to put himself in the
right way to do business.
He overreaohed" said another doctor
who had observed his beginning with in
terest. "It's all right to begin in business
like way. but there is nothing SO fatal to
the success Of physician with patient
as to let it be seen that you are overinter-
ested in the financial success Of your treat
ment. In his determination not to be done
this young doctor sent his bills 80 quickly,
expected the answers 30 soon ana showed
80 plainly he was only out for what money
there was In medicine that he scared on al!
the sufferers. There are, however, ways OF
making it perfectly plain to patients that
they are expected to pay up
Some Of these the doctor in question con-
sented to tell The SUN reporter.
"Of course it takes individual methods
in every case" he said, "but Ill tell you
what did In some Of them. was treating
an old duck who could perfectly well
have paid my bills II he wanted TO as soon
as they came in. He was one Of those old
timers with bad liver who had been passing
along the line from one person to another
for years. He had money all right. but
he was likely to be scared on by the nrst
show Of force. After they have yoq y. IN ,snr ior
60. l waited for him until he showed no
signs Of paying bill that had run up to
nearly $500 and had been going for over
two years. .
y sent 1t 70 him every month but don't ,Rt
handwriting. Once my wife wrote him
that wanted some money on account, and
| know he never opened that bill because
he never paid the least attention 70 the
request. He would have mentioned At
least the next time he came.
He came always to me. That made y
easy for him to keep on being treated. i
used TO keep him until the last person In
the room, Whatever the time was be came.
ans sser .sht % the s Resan there
to be nobody when he arrived I'd stay In
my office until the next patient came. Then
pI'd make him wait. One day he finally put
up kick. I'd almost lost confidence. %
"'Seems to me I'm always tho last In
whenever come. he grumbled.
-That gave me the chance wanted.
"'Thats my rule / said. Those are
cash customers. have to put at the end
Of the office hours all those that don't pay
Gs; Sls,y:' '' 'A' ne" rue Oh inc M'a''A' o..
@'First time ever heard Of that. he said.
DO you mean to tell me all those people
seated out there In the waiting room can
tell that don't pay promptly Just because
I 70 In last?
a'That's q fact
"'It's new ono on me- he murmured
as he went out,
"Well. he stayed away for two weeks, and
then he must have begun to feel bad,
for he sent me q check for half the bill and
then came around the first Of my patients.
I did not keep him waiting as long as be-
fore and he was evidently surprised that he
didn't got in promptly because he had sent
part OF the BILL was weary Of waiting
for him, however, and determined that he
should pay up all Of the account. The
next time I kept him waiting once more
until the very last, although several Of the
women and other patients waited for him
to pass in. knowing that he had arrived
first. He did not mention the delay after he
finally got to the Office, but the next week
the rest Of the check came around and he
folloTed as usual the next day. From that
time on we never had the least trouble.
He stuck to me, for apparently the thought
Of that new rule was on his mind. He might
have 20 pay any other doctor just as he did
me: 80 he stuck by me-"
Other wavs OF treating DELINQUENT patients
are not so drastic. One Is to be slow about