Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-25
Leading Specialists and Med.
icaI Society Are Giving
Thought to Plan.
MAY BE ESTABLISHED
IN NEXT FEW MONTHS
Would Serve to Simplify the
Patients Problem of When to
Go and Fill a Need Here.
By THOMAS r. HENRY.


A diagnostic clinic, comparable to the
Mayo Clinic at Rochester, Mimi. or
the Johns Hopkins University Clinic at
Baltimore, may be established in Wash
ington within the next few months
through the cooperation of some of the
citys leading medical specialists and
with the support Of the Medical Society
Of the District of Columbia
A group of prominent local physicians
have been studying the project for sew
eral months to determine the practic-
ability Of such clinic, the need on the
part OF the general public and the
necessary equipment and financial
support.
If the clinic is established 1t will
mark in some ways an entirely new de-
parture and will be practically pioneer
effort on the part Of physicians them
selves to solve problems which have
arisen with the remarkable progress Of
medical science during the past few
years.
Methods Changed Today.
Twenty years ago medical knowledge
was comparatively limited When a
person was sick the family physician
was consulted. He made the best
information. charged a small fee and
proceeded to the proper treatment. Ex-
cept in cases requiring surgical opera
ton he attended to everything himself.
The patient got the best that was to
be had.
Today all this has changed. Diagnosis
has passed largely into the hands of
the specialists, for no man living knows
all that is to be known about the human
body.
The patient first consults the family
doctor. as of old. II the case cannot
be diagnosed easily he refers the sick
person to a specialist This specialist
may or may not get to the roots of the
trouble. In any event he charges an
appropriate fee-but he may be Obliged
to pass the patient along to another
specialist.
The result is that a dozen suecislists
may be consulted before the final dag
nosis is made. This is much more ac-
curate than was the case in the Old
days, when both diagnosis and tlaerapv
were largely hlt-or-Hrliss propositions.
except in simple cases. But 1t also costs
a great deal more.
1t may. as one prominent Washing.
ton physician pointed out. cost as much
as sl5o-a months pay for many Gov
eminent workers with families to s,ln-
porto locate definitely the cause Of
recurring headache. The results are
lamentable
Some, fearful Of the big bills. give I'D
in despair and either neglect their con.
dltion until they become incurable or
else pass into the hands Of unscrupu-
lous quacks.
Others drift from the ofiice of spec
lalist after specialist, running up big
bills which they never pay and NAV
IN -Vfyit tA
that the doctors must collect larger
fees from others to make up the deficits
in their accounts.
Cooperative Organization.
The present plan calls for . CO.
operative organization of some of the
foremost physicians in Washington.
serving tbs diagnostic clinic for NOM
inal stated fees. Washington physi-
clans would alternate at the work, the
staff being assigned at regular inter-
vals by the medical society. The fee
Tor complete examination, probably
would not exceed $25, regardless Of
the difficulty of the case and the
amount of work required. And for this
sum the patient would have the serv-
ices OF some of the foremost special
lists in the country.
The proposed clinic would work In
close cooperation with the family
physicians. A patient would be ex-
amined only at the request of his regu-
lar doctor. The report would be sent
back to the general practitioner. pos
sibly with recommendations for treat
ment but in no case would the clinic
itself undertake therapeutic measures.
It's work would end with the diagnosis
The clinic would be operated en-
tirely without profit. but those who
have studied the situation believe that
1t could be made self-supporting in a
short time. 1t would require endow-
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