The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-01-10
How Much to Pay the Doctor

Elbow much do / owe you, doctors"
" Really, my dear sir, haven't time to
investigate your income and look up
your rating in Bradstreet s..
"1Thunderl What IS my income got to
do with your bill for seryicess When
I buy thing 7 want to pay the mar
ket price, which is ultimately based on
the cost of production. You evident
" want to reverse the economic law
and charge all the traffic will bear, like
the big monopolies. Why, man, that IS
Snnatural it's like those Oriental
shopkeepers!
"Gently, my friend. You don't I'M
derstand the ethics of the medical pro-
fession. We physicians are not to be
classed with manufacturers or traders.
Do they ever give away anythinga A
large part of our practice is charity.
Our prices justifably range from moth
ing up to several thousand dollars. Our
services are humanitarian, like those Of
the clergy; they are often priceless,
and cannot be balanced on scale of
dollars and CENTS
"That sounds sort of reasonable,
doc. I feel like apologizing. Only it
must be hard for you professionals to
figure out the details of bill, making
| it match with the patient S necktie and
| his diamonds, and all that. Maybe, the
| patient wearing a 'phony' stone, or
he IS dressed way beyond his means,
| or he IS rich man dressed cheap. You
must be Sherlock Holmes to know the
right price to charge when you haven t
| time to investigate and want cash on
| the spot.
/ cit Is an art,'' admitted the ply
| stefan. elm the words of an eminent
surgeon quoted in the North American
| Review by DIR. A. G. Heffenger, The
fixing of fee correctly is a talent
which is either born in a man or only
learned after long experience. The
physician should endeavor to ascertain
the patient circumstances. He can
thus be in position, knowing as he
does the gravity of the operation OF
, it's triviality, to say what the operation
is worth to the patient. The physician
is necessarily the better judge of the
two.
''That's beautiful theory; i II sure
read that article,' said the patient
hastily scribbling a check Of sufficient
proportions to avert an inquiry at hi:
| bank. "Still, you can always argue OF
| the other side. and | know some mel
! who'd rather judge for themselves
what an operation was worth, to saw
their lives or otherwise. A man wis
isn't particular about living wouldn
like to pay fancy price. An opera
tion may seem elegant to the operator
| like painting does to the painter, bu
that doesn't take account of the Gus
II toner.
III No standard price for medical serv
ices is possible, according to the argu
ment of DR.. Heffenger. The fee evolve
with the evolution of the pocketbook
| 1t is claimed that one-third of Ney
| York city practice is charity and niue
of that illegitimate. Those short sight
ed persons who object to a slidin
scale do not realize the nature of pro
fessional services. There was mothe
who objected to a metropolitan SUI
geon s charge of 81 900 for removin
her sons appendix and wanted to pa
only $500 but the surgeon had witness
- to prove that the flial appendix We
NOibh thS pIlct, anu ne IcCtihtu u
full amount The mother. perhaps wit
III characteristic feminine logic, failed
see the connection between a fat ban
a. account and plethoric appendix, al
;, that the removal of one should natura
- ly result in the reduction of the othe
From another point of view, this a
pendix had been distended with Rial
Holsters and other costly foods. inste;
OIL cOrned beef and cabbage, and
was worth something to restore t
w young man to an exalted digesti
lg. career, says the New York Tribune.
- The possession of great wealth c;
ries with it heavy obligations. it
stated, and these obligations are rigl
u fully eashed by the practitioner. Sol
III wealthy men don t have the instinct
"A distribution. like college builders a
S# library givers, and these need enco
| agement Legal fees are no more
# variable than medical fees; they
pend on the amount of money involy
I'll in lawsuit or the wealth of the eli,
"A and the jeopardy of his position.