Arizona republican., 1915-10-17

dent that fee-splitting among medical men is not the custom, and that such of 1t as is done is condemned by medical organizations. It is practiced by only a small proportion of the operators, and they not of high stand ing The proportion of family phy- sicians who peddle their patients Is even smaller still.
 Should fee-splitting among doctors he illegal and condemned, while among lawyers and business men it is approved by law, custom, and pub lie opinion? If so,\ why? Another question: Why is it discussed in this column?
 F'ee-splitting among physicians should not be allowed to become custom Why? Because of the
 abuses to which it leads.
 Hoy, is it worked? The answer to
 this question shows some of the pos
 sihilities for abuse. A man consults
 a physician. The physician examines
 him and tells him he needs an opera
 tion. The sick man asks who is to do
 the operation. If the fee-splitter has
 an understa nding with some one as
 to his commission, he suggests the man. The probability is that he will say to the patient: 'I expect to be running into the city about that time.
 I will take you in" When they reach the city, they see the operator to- gether. The patient may be told that the home doctor is to assist at the operation,
 In the worst cases of this group. the home doctor arranges the amount of the fee, collects it, and pays the operator. relieving the patient of all those details. In some, the operator collects, saving nothing to the patient about any payment to the physician who came with him. The patient can be certain that the family physician does rot assist at the operation An operating room organization arranges that each assistant shall have his work cut out for him. Team work is a necessity. Each assistant must know how to anticipate the next move of the operator. If an outside phy- sician is allowed on the operating floor he may be permitted to put on l a gown and stand close by, but he ! must not touch any of the instru- ments. The statement that the phv- sician is paid for assisting cannot be substantiated.
 If the physician has not established connections with fec -splitters and wishes to get a portion of the fee he may tell his patient that he will find out who is the best man to operate on him. Meanwhile, he may write for bids The physician at home usu- ally has a suspicion as to which operators can safely be approached on the proposition of splitting a fee. On the other side, operators in search of business sometimes send out
 letters in which proposals for fec splitting are made. Within certain limitations. the fee-splittng operators
 know to whom, among the non-oper- ating physicians, it is safe to send such a proposal
 When a patient asks his physician
 to select an operator for him, he has right to expect that the physician will give him the name of a thor oughly capable man. More than that, he should expect the name of an operator who suits the circumstances of his case best. If his physician is a fee-splitter. what he gets is the name of the fee-splitting operator with whom the physician has been able to make satisfactory terms
 Should hte patient learn the facts, and ask the fee-splitting family phy- sican to justify himself, the physician would explain that he was underpaid: that the operator was overpaid. and that he had a right to a sufficient portion of the fee to even up His answer might satisfy a person easily satisfied. Furthermore, he would claim that the operator selected was competent To select any other vould