The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1918-09-19
NORTHWESTERN
PHYSICIANS AD-
JUST PRICES
Meeting Held in Minot Sept. Is st
Which Time Schedule of PRICE,
Was Raised in Some Instances
Physicians Adopt Cash
Basis.

Owing to military necessity and
IN acceptance with general raise in
fees throughout the United States.
and also to the fact that physicians
and surgeons practicing in this state
may be called at any time for service
in the military forces of the United
States and in France, the practicing
physicians and surgeons residing in
the northwestern portion of the state
held a meeting at the city of Minot.
September 13, 1918. After discussion
by medical men present it was de-
clded that the physicians would have
to in the future insist upon the cur
tailment of credit and by reason of
the fact that physicians and surgeons
may be called at any time on Short no
tlce it will be necessary hereafter for
patients to pay for medical and sur
gical services in cash.
Considerable time at this meeting
was devoted to the discussion of the
increased cost of living and the in
creased cost of surgical appliances,
drugs, bandages, Instruments, etc.,
and it was the opinion of the members
of the profession attending this meet
ing that charges for professional and
medical services would have to be
raised in order to permit the doctor to
receive fair compensation for his
personal attendance. On such discus
sion it was likewise disclosed that fire.
quently the doctor is called in the
city to render professional services
and in making the call is forced to
employ taXis. The taxi driver re-
quires his fee which is always a dollar
/ to dollar and half, in advance, and
! the liveryman who takes the doctor to
patients in the country requires his
/ livery fee in advance. The taxi driver
and liveryman look to the doctor for
payment OF these transportation fees
and not to the patient, and the doctor
/ invariably pays this amount in ad-
vance. 1t is, therefore, the plan of
physicians to require such fees to be
paid by such patient at the time Of
! the call.
Professional calls to patients living
in the City Of Minot hereafter will be
$500. In confinement cases the fee
hereafter will be $500 instead of
S25.00 in ordinary cases not requiring
any particular surgical correction. Op-
Grating fees have also been raised and
the mileage rate for country calls has
been raised from S1.00 mile to S1.50
per mile. Regular office hours, to
p. m. and by appointment. Mini
mum office consultation 81.
Altho the medical men residing in
the city of Minot and in the north
western part Of the state hesitated to
make any changes in their schedules,
yet they considered it absolutely nee
essary that such changes be made to
afford practitioners proper remunera-
tion for services rendered. The in
ceased cost of living due to war condi-
tions affects the doctor the same as
everyone else in the community and
the terrific drain upon this country
during the war for bandages, suturing
material, surgical dressings and sur
gical instruments has boosted the
! price Of these materials SO rapidly
/ tnat the doctor of necessity must raise
| his schedule of fees.
1t is to the credit of practicing ply
sicians throughout the state generally
that although the cost of living and of
surgical and hospital material has n
creased during the past twenty years
and in each year of the twenty the
charges for medical and surgical SER
vices have remained the same.
One thing that the public should un-
derstand is that all doctors are now
subject to service in the military
forces of the United States. They
may be called to such service on short
notice and it will be absolutely impos-
sible for them to extend credit and
| thereby accumulate a large number of
accounts. After receiving notice from
| the government to report for military
duty it will be impossible for doctors
to arrange for the care Of patients on
| hand and at the same time collect in
outstanding accounts.
1t is the intention Of the doctors of
Minot and vicinity to open no book ac
counts except with the deserving poor.
Under this arrangement the doctor on
receiving his call for military duty
will be enabled to close up his busi-
ness within q reasonably short time
after receiving such service notice.
One of the peculiar things about
people generally is that they invari-
ably leave the doctors bill until the
last. The butcher, the baker and the
candlestick maker will be paid on the
first of each month but the doctor who
was called to relieve pain or restore
life is often forgotten and by reason
of this popularity Of people generally,
doctors annually lose thousands and
thousands of dollars.